Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 486

49ers rookies arrive: RB Guerendo ready to make quick first impression in NFL

SANTA CLARA — Isaac Guerendo stood still in his red size-12 sneakers Thursday as reporters interviewed him for the first time at Levi’s Stadium, his new home. From here on out, those feet could be among the fastest to put on a 49ers uniform and race through defenses.

Six years ago, Guerendo crossed the finish line first in the 100-yard dash to win an Indiana state championship for Avon High School, where his football coaches used him as a wide receiver rather than an NFL-bound running back.

“I always wanted to play in the NFL, but there came a point when I was younger where I wasn’t highly recruited, so I thought maybe track is the way to go,” Guerendo said upon arriving for the 49ers rookie minicamp.

“Fortunately, I was given a few opportunities, then I just took those, and it went from there.”

A few, indeed.

Guerendo enters the NFL with limited wear and tear on his 6-foot, 221-pound body. He did not start a game in college until last season’s bowl game for Louisville, where he transferred ahead of last season after five years and just 99 carries at Wisconsin. He ran for 161 yards and three touchdowns in his lone start, a Holiday Bowl loss to USC.

“Just continuing to be patient and to wait for my time, that’s one thing I’ve always done and one thing I’ll continue to do,” Guerendo said. “… Obviously it’s frustrating and you want to contribute and play as much as possible. But if I let it bother me, it wouldn’t allow me to be ready for those moments when they were given.”

ISAAC GUERENDO TURNED ON THE JETS

(via @CFBONFOX)pic.twitter.com/WtWe5Nsi6z

— Bleacher Report CFB (@BR_CFB) September 12, 2021

Once Guerendo arrived at Wisconsin in 2018, he redshirted his first year, and then coaches converted him from wide receiver to running back, a switch that worked out so well that he became a fourth-round draft pick. His 231 collegiate carries (1,392 yards, 17 touchdowns) were fewer than Jonathan Taylor had in any one of his seasons at Wisconsin (2017-19) before he became an All-Pro for the Indianapolis Colts.

“(Wisconsin coaches) gave me Jonathan Taylor comparisons and you can’t complain about that,” Guerendo said of Taylor, a former Badger who became a 2021 All-Pro with the Indianapolis Colts. “They didn’t throw the ball a lot when I was there, and he just saw more opportunity if I were to switch to running back.”

Aside from being behind Taylor, Guerendo bided his time behind Braelon Allen at Wisconsin and Jawhar Jordan at Louisville. Drafted 129th overall, Guerendo was picked before both last month, as Allen went five spots later to the New York Jets, and Jordan was drafted in the sixth round by Houston.

Hamstring injuries limited him his first three years at Wisconsin. Then came a 2021 game against Eastern Michigan, and Guerendo was clocked at 22.15 mph as he raced 82 yards for his first career touchdown. Three months ago, Guerendo led all running backs at the NFL scouting combine with a time of 4.33 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He turns 24 on June 28.

He is in no race to steal Christian McCaffrey’s job, however. Guerendo is hungry to learn from the NFL’s reigning rushing champion, stating: “I was doubted a lot growing up playing football. To get to this point and to prove to the 5-year-old version of myself that I’m actually here, it’s exciting, but now it’s about maintaining that.”

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SAFETY TO SAFETY

Malik Mustapha, a fourth-round safety from Wake Forest, found an instant connection with general manager John Lynch. It could take a little bit longer, however, for Mustapha to study film from Lynch’s playing days as a Pro Football Hall of Fame safety.

“I’m going to have to dig deep for that film. I definitely heard good things about him,” Mustapha said. “I’m hip with the John Lynches and Ronnie Lotts of the world. When I connected with him at the combine, we hit it off, simply because safety to safety, we had that kind of relationship.

“I definitely have to pull up some VHS tapes of him. It’s awesome to be part of an organization where the general manager has been a part of the game, and understands his players and the game, and somebody who can relate to us.”

GREEN’S FIRST IMPRESSION

Cornerback Renardo Green, the 49ers’ second-round selection out of Florida State, is bracing for a culture change.

“There ain’t no houses in hills in Florida, and it’s hotter than this, and way more humid than this, that’s one thing I do know,” Green said.

Of the 49ers’ eight draft picks, Green is the only one who did not transfer schools. He admitted he was tempted, but called Florida State a “dream school” for him.

“I believe in staying loyal to what I committed to and then when things get hard I just don’t up and leave and run away from a challenge,” he said. “I knew I could better myself, I knew I had coaches standing behind me and I knew we were all working towards a goal so I kept putting one foot in front of the other and worked for everything I wanted.”

KINGSTON’S IN-STATE DRIVE

Offensive lineman Jarrett Kingston, a sixth-round draft pick, made good time driving the 3 ½ hours from his Northern California hometown of Anderson.

“Everything around here is awesome. I got down here early so I drove around and checked it out, and told my wife what it’s like so she’s not surprised,” Kingston said. “I’m just grateful and excited to get to work.”

Viewed by the 49ers as an interior lineman, Kingston(6-4, 308) said he has already been studying the 49ers’ playbook to pick up calls as quickly as possible. Kingston’s speed and agility are reflected well with his short-shuttle time at the combine, his physicality in college at Washington State (five years) and USC (last year) also impressed offensive line coach Chris Foerster.

“He’s just a legend, one of the best offensive line coaches in the league,” Kingston said. “I’m excited to learn from him, get under his wing and see how great I can be.”

College baseball: White earns 400th win as CSUMB opens tournament with walk-off win

POMONA — Milestone moments are becoming a theme this year.

Five days after guiding Cal State Monterey Bay to its third straight California Collegiate Athletic Association baseball title, Walt White earned his 400th win as the school’s coach.

This victory just might feel a little more special after Nico Hartojo capped a four-hit afternoon with a walk-off run-scoring single, lifting the Otters to a 6-5 win over San Francisco State Thursday in the CCAA conference tournament in Pomona.

The Otters, who won both the conference and tournament championships last year, will host the San Marcos-Cal Poly Pomona winner on Friday at 3 p.m. in the semifinals of the double-elimination tournament.

Regardless of what transpires over the next two days, CSUMB will be seeded into the NCAA Division II West Regionals, with a shot be a No. 1 or No. 2 seed and potentially host.

The Otters, who won their final five regular season games to win the CCAA title, were 3-1 against Pomona during the regular season, but dropped three of four on the road to San Marcos.

Hartojo, who moved to shortstop in the second half of the season, had a hand in the Otters two-run first inning with an RBI single. Jaden Sheppard’s solo homer in the fifth staked them to a 4-2 lead.

Yet, when the upset-minded Gators rallied for three runs in the sixth inning to take a 5-4 lead, CSUMB responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning, setting the scene for Hartojo’s heroics later in the game.

The Otters (33-17) won four of five this year against San Francisco State, with the one setback coming in extra frames.

Giovanni Costello tossed 2.2 innings of shutout relief, with Ryan Lo hurling a hitless ninth to earn the win, improving to 3-0 on the season.

KW Quilici and Sergio Solis each had two hits for CSUMB, while Salinas grad Max Farfan drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth.

 

Kurtenbach: 3 up, 3 down from the SF Giants’ brutal road trip — was the hype unjustified?

Well, that could have gone better.

The Giants’ longest road trip of the season — a 10-game, 10-day stretch in Boston, Philadelphia, and Denver — felt downright interminable.

Only winning three games in 10 chances will do that.

Not great, Bob (Melvin)!

Yes, the worst road trip to watch since the 2012 Seth Rogan, Barbra Streisand feature “The Guilt Trip” was, in all, a deeply inauspicious stretch for the black and orange — one that raises serious questions about this team’s chances to compete for the postseason, and all that preseason optimism.

But it wasn’t all bad.

Here are three ups, and, of course, three downs, from the Giants’ road trip to forget:

UP: Ryan Walker and the bullpen

I used to believe that bullpens win divisions.

Clearly, that’s not the case, because the Giants have a pretty good bullpen — maybe the best in the National League West — and they’re not going to sniff the division lead this season.

Maybe bullpens win Wild Cards?

We know who is closing. We know one of the Rogers twins is going to come in when it’s a high-leverage situation.

But the Giants have their fireman in the pen. His name is Ryan Walker.

Over his last 10 innings of action — 10 games — Walker, a herky-jerky righty with a cross-body delivery, has allowed only three hits and no runs, while striking out 18.

He’s cooking, and if the Giants find themselves in a position to win a game after even five innings, they have to like their chances of finishing off the game.

And, one quick note: Randy Rodriguez, who saw his first big-league action on this trip, looks like he stands a chance of being an impact arm for the Giants. Sure, 99 miles per hour is par for the course in baseball these days, but I’m still impressed.

DOWN: The Giants’ good health

At least when it came to position players, the Giants were in good health heading into this 10-game road trip.

That is no longer the case. Jorge Soler is on the injured list, as are both of their catchers, and Nick Ahmed and Jung Hoo Lee both picked up knocks in Colorado.

The Giants’ lineup depth is being tested and it will continue to be tested.

Perhaps that’s a good thing, given this team’s offensive struggles — it’s a forced mix-up.

Or perhaps a bad offense is about to become worse, as not-everyday players are thrust into those roles.

UP: Thairo Estrada

The Giants second baseman had a brutal start to the season, but he’s back to being himself, and that’s a damn fine baseball player.

Estrada slashed .282/.333/.410 on the 10-game road trip, playing every day and hitting two doubles and a homer, driving in seven runs.

On an offense with few bright spots these days, he’s unquestionably a positive at the moment.

But what has most impressed me with Estrada as of late is his glove. He’s really flashing the leather at second.

The eye test is flattering. The tracking data is enviable. Estrada is third in baseball with five outs above average at second base.

And while, yes, he did lead all second basemen in that category last year, the combination of that glove with the Giants’ left side of the infield seems like a huge advantage over the competition.

With Nick Ahmed (baseball’s second-best defensive shortstop this season, per Fielding Run-Value), the incomparable Matt Chapman, and Estrada all playing Gold Glove-level defense, the Giants should be begging their pitchers to induce ground balls all game.

If nothing else, that would get this all over with sooner.

DOWN: Keaton Winn

The young starter has the stuff to be a big-league pitcher.

But when he isn’t locating, things escalate in a hurry. (And not in a good way for the Giants.)

You want to give the 26-year-old the benefit of the doubt for what happened in Philadelphia — he was under the weather for the game he couldn’t escape the first inning, allowing five runs. Anything less than your best against the Phillies will be burned.

And sure, Coors Field is a tough place to pitch, but the Rockies are not a lineup to be feared. Yet after the first time through the order, Colorado jumped on Winn early in the count and tagged him for seven runs on eight hits.

The Giants aren’t in a position to knock Winn out of the rotation right now, but he’ll probably have one more start to prove he deserves to be in it. After that Blake Snell is likely to return and Mason Black will have a second big-league start under his belt.

That start is likely to come next Tuesday against the… Dodgers.

At least it’s at home?

UP: Michael Conforto

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He still can’t play a lick of defense, but his red-hot bat requires him to be in the lineup daily. Strangely, that makes Soler’s injury a win for San Francisco — manager Bob Melvin can stash Conforto in the DH spot, where he truly belongs.

I say “can” because Melvin decided to play Conforto in left on Thursday, with Lee on the bench, and hit Blake Sabol in the DH spot.

Regardless, Conforto is raking. On the road trip, he slashed .303/.395/.576 with two homers.

Conforto is never going to be the player he was for the Mets in 2020, when he was 54 percent better than a league-average hitter, but he’s been roughly 30 percent better this season. For an offense starved for, well, offense, the front office’s belief in the 31-year-old is looking wise.

Now, if only teams could stop hitting it to him in left field.

DOWN: The Giants’ season outlook

It’s too early to win anything of worth.

But it’s not too early to lose it.

The 3-7 road trip has put the Giants in a hole. It’s hardly an insurmountable one — the Giants were somehow only 2.5 games back of a Wild Card spot after Thursday’s loss — but it’s still a hole.

It’s hard to imagine that anything less than 85 wins will be enough to make the playoffs.

That means the Giants need to go 68-55 the rest of the way.

Can they? Yes.

But there’s no reason to confidently say they will.

Sheriff Tina Nieto appointed to California Homeland Security Advisory Council

Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto was appointed to the California State Homeland Security Advisory Committee on May 1, to represent the California State Sheriff’s Association.

The Advisory Committee reports to the state’s Homeland Security on different issues and ideas that they believe are prevalent.

Nieto has not attended her first meeting yet, but she said she feels confident in being able to represent other sheriffs and law enforcement.

“I’m honored that I got selected for the position,” Nieto said. “I think it shows that the other sheriffs in California understand that I’m a confident sheriff, I know emerging threats and I’ve been in this business a long time.”

Nieto is going into her 36th year in law enforcement and prides herself on staying up to date on key issues. Her decades-long career will also be beneficial in staying in touch with other sheriffs across the state.

“Even though I’m a newer sheriff, I’ve served on boards before. I was the board president for the Hispanic American Command Officers Association, and since becoming sheriff I’ve become very active with the California Sheriff’s Association,” Nieto said.

Nieto said she wants to use her platform to voice opinions that represent everyday people.

“The sheriff is an elected constitutional officer through the state of California, so there are things that I can do or say that might not be as popular with our local politicians,” Nieto said. “Things that my counterparts with the police may not be able to be vocal about because they are at-will employees. I answer to the people.”

Monterey County 2023 travel spending changes little from 2022 report says

MONTEREY – Travel spending in California was up 5.6% in 2023 over the previous year, but in Monterey County it remained relatively unchanged in 2023 from 2022 levels. Statewide that increase reflected $150.4 billion in spending of which Monterey County accounted for about $3 billion in each of the past two years.

Those figures were part of Visit California’s Economic Impact of Travel report for 2023 prepared by Dean Runyan Associates.

“The Visit California report is great for the state as a whole. Their numbers are driven up by larger destinations like Los Angeles and San Diego and there are a few destinations still lagging 2019 numbers,” said See Monterey President and CEO Rob O’Keefe. “For Monterey County, we rely heavily on group and international visitors and both are still lagging.”

Tourism is the number two economic driver in Monterey County and number one on the Monterey Peninsula. Visitor spending in 2022 was $2.954 billion and in 2023 it was $2.963 billion, placing the county 8.6% below the 2019 total of $3.240 billion.

Monterey County has historically been reliant on two key travel segments – groups and conferences, and international visitors. Compared to 2019, the group and conference segment was down 5.3% last year. It is a lucrative segment as group spending is 158% of what leisure visitors spend.

But O’Keefe said there is a lot of reasons to be optimistic. See Monterey has momentum on its side as more group business is being booked now than was tallied in 2019. Many larger meetings and conferences book further out, he said, so that business will be realized in next year and beyond.

According to See Monterey, International travel has also been slower to recover for the entire state, particularly the China market which prior to the pandemic was the top spending overseas tourism market for California and for Monterey County. Challenges with visitor visa wait times and overall airlift from China remain the largest hurdles for recovery. See Monterey sees great opportunity on the horizon.

O’Keefe pointed out that See Monterey has maintained critical relationships in the market throughout the pandemic. It is sending a small delegation to Shanghai at the end of May to attend several key conferences to heighten Monterey County’s visibility and to position it for future success. See Monterey has also established for the first time a representation office in the United Kingdom to develop the market and begin reaching further into western Europe.

“We have to be more aggressive. Tourism is a business with fierce competitors and we’re all going after the same markets,” said O’Keefe. “The hotel community stepped up this year with our budget providing a new level of firepower and we’re using it. We need that and continued partnership investment from our jurisdictions to be truly competitive.”

O’Keefe stressed that challenges unique to Monterey County include closures along Highway 1 in Big Sur. The coastal highway is a major attraction with global appeal, bringing visitors to California and the county. Highway 1 has been closed at Paul’s Slide since the winter of 2023 and more closures have developed at two other slide points, as well as the recent Rocky Creek slip-out.

The Big Sur experience is an incredibly alluring attraction for the state and our local area, said O’Keefe, but when people realize they may not be able to get that experience, they may very well choose another destination entirely.

The coastal highway is a major attraction with global appeal, bringing visitors to California and the county. But Highway 1 has been closed at Paul’s Slide since the winter of 2023, and more closures have developed at two other slide points, as well as the recent Rocky Creek slip-out. The Big Sur experience is an incredibly alluring attraction for the state and the local area, but when people realize they may not be able to get that experience, they may very well choose another destination entirely. (Caltrans)

“Our tourism economy is good and heading towards great,” explained O’Keefe. “I don’t often refer to how we were in 2019 as if getting back to that is the goal. I consider where we would have been if not for the pandemic and, conservatively estimated, that would be about $3.6 billion this year. That is my immediate focus.”

But in most people’s minds, the pandemic is often the time post as recovery has been a long, slow process since that point in time.

O’Keefe said that Monterey County’s 2023 state and local tourism-related tax revenue – $306.9 million – is actually higher than in 2019 when the county’s total tax revenue was $297.8 million.

In 2023, Travel industry employment in Monterey County was 26.8 thousand compared to the 2019 figure of 27.2 thousand.

“Obviously, we have some additional catching up to do and it’s happening. Employment grew by 6.2% between 2023 and 2022,” said O’Keefe.

Current forecasts for 2024 indicate a flat to slightly up trajectory for all California destinations.

“We have the added pull-down of lost business from the situation with Highway 1, but we’re starting to catch our full stride in other areas like the group and international markets,” said O’Keefe. “I think 2024 is a year of continued growth for the state and for Monterey County.”

Rockies ambush Keaton Winn, send SF Giants home on sour note

Ten pitches.

That was all it took Thursday afternoon to spoil the Giants’ trip home from Colorado.

After fouling off Keaton Winn’s first pitch of the fourth inning, Ezequiel Tovar lined the next one into the vast tundra of Coors Field’s center field alley, and only eight pitches later, Brenton Doyle had driven home the sixth run of the inning on a drive that cleared the wall in center and kicked the Giants’ bullpen into overdrive.

The Rockies’ ambush flipped an early advantage into an insurmountable deficit and prevented the Giants from clinching their first series sweep of the season, which would have allowed them to board their charter flight feeling better than when they arrived — with significant turbulence amid thunderstorms across the middle of the country — from a 1-6 start to the trip through Boston and Philadelphia.

Here are three takeaways from the 9-1 loss.

Tipping pitches

The Giants, like every team, have a department devoted to studying opposing pitchers and learning about what clues teams have on their own, and they certainly were hard at work as Winn began to get hit around in the fourth inning.

Running into trouble at Coors Field is hardly a problem unique to Winn, but the 26-year-old righty cruised through the first three frames until the first six batters of the fourth connected for six hits — four for extra bases — on the first 10 pitches of the fourth.

Tover tripled on an 0-1 sinker. Ryan McMahon shot a splitter into right field at 110.7 mph. Winn went back to the sinker, and Elias Díaz drove a double at 106.5 mph off the bat. Sean Bouchard sent a slider screaming past Wilmer Flores, and singled on a splitter, setting the stage for Benton Doyle to end the assault with a 430-foot missile to make it 6-1.

Winn was tagged for seven runs on eight hits in 3⅔ innings, raising his ERA to 5.63.

After limiting opponents to five earned runs over 23 in his previous four starts (a 1.93 ERA), Winn has combined to allow 12 over only 4⅓ innings his past two — one more out recorded than runs allowed.

On the 10 games this road trip, the Giants had their starter complete six innings once (Kyle Harrison on Wednesday).

A different look

The Giants didn’t use one lineup more than four times all of last season, but almost a third of the way into 2024 have already used their most common batting order eight times. With a cavalcade of injuries, a getaway game at Coors Field, and still no day off in sight, this was not one of those days.

Already missing Jorge Soler (shoulder), Patrick Bailey (concussion), and Tom Murphy (knee), the Giants took another blow when Jung Hoo Lee fouled a pitch off his toe Wednesday, knocking him out of the lineup for the series finale.

Making matters worse, Nick Ahmed was forced from the game after his at-bat in the third inning with left wrist discomfort, forcing Tyler Fitzgerald to take over at shortstop. They were already without Matt Chapman, who received a day off after snapping an 0-for-12 skid Wednesday.

Some combination of playing shorthanded and Cal Quantrill, the Rockies’ starter, halted whatever momentum the Giants’ beleaguered offense had built in the first two games of the series.

After scoring 13 runs in the past two games — more than in their previous five — the Giants were limited to a lone run by Quantrill and a trio of Rockies relievers. Their only offense was a home run that Michael Conforto snuck over the fence just inside the left-field foul pole, his team-leading seventh of the season.

A big homestand

The Giants (17-22) return home from their longest road trip of the season four games further under .500 and four games further out of first place than they were when they left San Francisco.

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They are closer in the standings to the last-place Rockies (9-28) than they are the first-place Dodgers (26-13), whom they welcome to Oracle Park starting Monday for the first of only two series this season between the rivals on the shores of McCovey Cove.

Something else the Giants have in common with the Rockies: the only two teams yet to win three games in a row this season.

They went 3-7 over the 10-game trip and were outscored 55-30, failing to push more than three men across the plate seven times. While the first stretch came against the Red Sox (19-18) and the Phillies (26-12), two good teams that lead their respective leagues in ERA, Thursday’s loss to the lowly Rockies too closely resembled the start of the trip than their better-look past two games.

Set to return home Friday, the Giants have three games against the Reds (16-21) to get right before their archrivals come to town.

Chaos lingers in Congress after Greene’s effort to oust GOP speaker

By Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking | Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Hard-line Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tried and failed in a brazen push to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, but the resounding rejection by Republicans and Democrats tired of the turmoil does not guarantee an end to the GOP chaos.

One of Donald Trump’s biggest supporters in Congress, Greene stood on the House floor late Wednesday and read a long list of “transgressions” she said Johnson had committed as speaker, from his passage of a $95 billion national security package with aid for Ukraine to his reliance on Democrats to wield power.

Colleagues booed in protest. But Greene soldiered on, criticizing Johnson’s leadership as “pathetic, weak and unacceptable.”

After Greene triggered the vote on her motion to vacate the Republican speaker from his office, Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise quickly countered by calling first for a vote to table it.

An overwhelming majority, 359-43, kept Johnson in his job, for now.

“As I’ve said from the beginning, and I’ve made clear here every day, I intend to do my job,” Johnson said afterward. “And I’ll let the chips fall where they may. In my view, that is leadership.”

It’s the second time in a matter of months that Republicans have worked to oust their own speaker, an unheard of level of party upheaval with a move rarely seen in U.S. history.

While the outcome temporarily calms the latest source of House disruption, the vote tally shows the strengths but also the stark limits of Johnson’s hold on the gavel, and the risks ahead for any Republican trying to lead the GOP.

Without Democratic help, Johnson would have certainly faced a more dismal outcome. All told, 11 Republicans voted to proceed with Greene’s effort, more than it took to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy last fall, a first in U.S. history.

But by relying on Democratic backing, Johnson risks inciting more criticism that he is insufficiently loyal to the party.

And the threat still lingers — any single lawmaker can call up the motion to vacate the speaker.

Even though Trump provided a needed nod of support for Johnson at crucial moments, it’s not bankable going forward. The former president posed an idle warning about potentially ousting the speaker as voting was getting underway.

“At some point, we may very well be, but this is not the time,” Trump said on social media.

Trump also made clear he still valued Greene, perhaps his biggest ally in the House, even as he rejected her proposal. “I absolutely love Marjorie Taylor Greene,” he said as he urged Republicans to table her motion.

As Greene pressed ahead with the snap vote, GOP lawmakers filtered towards Johnson, giving him pats on the back and grasping his shoulder to assure him of their support.

The Georgia Republican had vowed weeks ago she would force a vote on the motion to vacate the Republican speaker if he dared to advance the foreign aid package for Ukraine, which was overwhelmingly approved late last month and signed into law.

But in recent days it seemed her effort had cooled, as she and Johnson met repeatedly for a potential resolution.

Johnson of Louisiana marched on, saying he had been willing to take the risk to approve the foreign aid, believing it was important for the U.S. to back Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and explaining he wanted to be on the “right side of history.”

Highly unusual, the boost from Democrats led by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, showed the exhaustion in Congress over the far-right antics. Jeffries and his leadership team had said it was time to “turn the page” on the GOP turmoil and vote to table Greene’s resolution — ensuring Johnson’s job is saved, for now.

“Our decision to stop Marjorie Taylor Greene from plunging the country into further chaos is rooted in our commitment to solve problems,” Jeffries said after the vote.

But Democrats have also made clear their help was for this moment alone, and not a promise of an enduring partnership for Johnson’s survival.

Asked about a future motion to vacate the speaker, Jeffries said, “Haven’t given it a thought.”

The move now poses its own political risks for Greene, a high-profile provocateur who has moved to the forefront of the party with her own massive following and proximity to Trump.Greene was determined to force her colleagues to be on the record with their vote – putting them in the politically uncomfortable position of backing the speaker and seen as joining forces with Democrats to save him.

“I’m proud of what I did today,” Greene said afterward on the Capitol steps.

While reporters and camera crews crowded around Greene and ally Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a group of other Republicans gathered on the steps trying to shift the attention away from her and make their own views known.

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said of those trying to remove the speaker, “They’re pretty good at getting attention, but they have not been recognized for their ability to get things done.”He said if they keep pushing to oust the speaker, “I think you can expect more of the same: Failure.”

Reps. Carlos Giménez, a Florida Republican, said of Greene: “She doesn’t represent the Republican Party. I’m tired of this being the face or the voice of the party and getting attention. That’s all she wants, is the attention.”

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., called for Greene and Massie to be punished for their actions.

Had Democrats not taken the unusual move to help, the vote would most likely have ended differently for Johnson who holds one of the slimmest majorities in the House in modern times, with no votes to spare.

Last year, the House chamber was hurled into chaos when eight Republicans voted to remove McCarthy from the speaker’s office and Democrats declined to help save him.

Ousting McCarthy resulted in a nearly monthlong search for a new GOP leader, bringing the chamber to a standstill with an episode Republicans wanted to avoid ahead of the November election.

Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Mary Clare Jalonick, Michelle Price and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.

Horoscopes May 9, 2024: Billy Joel, look for positive signs

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Steve Yzerman, 59; John Corbett, 63; Billy Joel, 75; Candice Bergen, 78.

Happy Birthday: Trust your instincts, and question anything that doesn’t feel or sound accurate. A disciplined approach to navigating your life and what you participate in will keep you moving in the right direction. Recognize your limits, set boundaries and take control. Look for positive signs, and adjust your path to minimize backtracking. You have plenty to gain if you listen to your inner voice. Your numbers are 5, 12, 19, 26, 31, 37, 43.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Pace yourself and focus on your goals. Do the work yourself, and accept and enjoy the rewards you deserve. Use your imagination, and you will discover unusual ways to use your skills to overcome barriers. 4 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Self-improvement projects will build confidence and make you feel good about the possibilities and your pursuits. Express yourself and what you can achieve and offer through actions, and you will gain the support you need to bring about positive change and opportunity. 3 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Combat anxiety by joining forces with people you know and trust to pitch in and help. Your experience will help you pick and choose what’s best for you mentally, physically and emotionally. Abandon projects that are wasting valuable time for minimal return. 3 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Be a good listener, but don’t buy into someone else’s dream. Take what you can from conversations and apply the information to something meaningful. Refrain from letting anger set in or arguments take up precious time. 3 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Someone will consume your energy for their benefit if you are too accommodating. Act on your behalf and progress will be yours. Partnerships are only to your advantage if there is give and take. Map out what’s important to you, and don’t take unnecessary detours. 4 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Mixed emotions will slow you down. Look for opportunities and adjust what’s necessary to gain ground. Pay attention to detail, and present yourself and what you have to offer in your unique way, and you will discover a captive audience with something to contribute. 2 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Follow your passion. Create something that makes you feel good about yourself and will prompt you to do the work necessary to reach your goal. Take better care of your health and your financial well-being. Finish what you start, and avoid outside interference. 5 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You’ll gravitate toward people who are as hardworking as you are. Expand your mind, connections and plans. Attend events offering insight into new possibilities and technology to help you reach your goal. Partnerships look promising. 3 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Keep your thoughts to yourself, listen carefully and don’t believe everything you hear. An older family member or domestic issue will burden you if you ignore the signs. Assess situations; protect yourself from anyone taking advantage of you. 3 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Educate yourself before you start something new. Being resourceful and keeping up with the latest technology are important. Participate in events that encourage positive change. Find opportunities that can streamline your actions to meet your demands. 3 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Domestic issues will be convoluted. When in doubt, step back and evaluate. Don’t disregard your emotions; how you feel will accurately assess what’s happening around you. Question everything and everyone, and you’ll find it easier to decide what’s best for you. 5 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Take your time, watch what’s happening around you and adjust to the changes you observe. Refuse to let your emotions take over, leading to a spontaneous or premature move that lacks validity. Slow, decisive action will keep you on the right track and ease your mind. 2 stars

Birthday Baby: You are persistent, curious and original. You are powerful and supportive.

1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes. 2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others. 3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals. 4 stars: Aim high; start new projects. 5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.

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SF Giants’ 8-6 win puts them on cusp of sweeping Rockies to cap road trip

A second straight victory in Colorado has the Giants on the brink of sweeping their first series of the season.

Beating the woeful Rockies again Thursday would be a welcome way to end this 10-game road trip which the Giants started by anemically losing the first two of three in Boston before getting swept in a four-game visit to Philadelphia.

Michael Conforto got Wednesday night’s 8-6 win started by opening the second inning with a first-pitch home run into Coors Field’s right-field seats. That ignited a six-run rally by — let’s double check — yes, an aggressive Giants squad that failed to score that many runs in any of their previous 14 games.

This marked only the fourth time this season the Giants (17-21) have won back-to-back games. Thursday’s 12:10 p.m. PT start pits the Giants’ Keaton Winn (3-4, 4.41) against Cal Quantrill (1-3, 4.31).

After beating the Rockies 5-0 on Monday behind Kyle Harrison’s seven shutout innings, the Giants continued to make offensive strides, and manager Bob Melvin wasn’t going to credit that to playing in a hitter-friendly, mile-high ballpark.

“Our bats have been better this series. I’ve never going to discount that,” Melvin told reporters after the game.

Colorado fell to a MLB-worst 8-28 with its ninth loss in the past 10 games; the Rockies have been swept in four previous series this season. The Giants return to Oracle Park on Friday night for a nine-game homestand, with three-game sets against the Cincinnati Reds, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Rockies again.

Wednesday’s six-run rally matched the Giants’ most runs in an inning since a March 30 win San Diego, their third game of the season.

After Conforto turned on an inside fastball for his sixth home run of the season (and first in 13 games), the Giants got three consecutive singles, from Matt Chapman, Mike Yastrzemski and Heliot Ramos, the latter of whom got called up from Triple-A Sacramento for not just his season debut but his initiation to hitter-friendly Coors Field.

Ramos’ opposite-field, RBI single scored Chapman for a 2-0 lead. Showing off the hitting prowess that had him batting .296 with eight home runs and 21 RBI in Sacramento, Ramos fell behind 0-2 in his initial at-bat in Colorado, then he fouled off a 1-2 fastball before lining a 94.2-mph sinker to right field.

Ramos served as the designated hitter as the Giants placed slumping slugger Jorge Soler on the 10-day Injury List with a shoulder strain. Ramos had hit just .158 in big-league cameos the past two seasons covering 34 games.

The Giants’ lead climbed to 3-0 when Yastrzemski dove head-first to safely score on Nick Ahmed’s surprising, one-out bunt. Jung Hoo Lee made it 4-0 by drilling a slider 105 mph off the right-field wall and driving in Ramos. A two-out, two-RBI flare by LaMonte Wade Jr. pushed the Giants’ lead to 6-0, and Conforto followed with a single for his second hit of the inning, before Chapman flew out to end the long-sought rally.

Another run came the next inning, when a Blake Sabol double scored Ystrzemski for a 7-1 lead.

That proved a wide enough berth to improve Giants starter Jordan Hicks’ record to 3-1.

“This is his first time starting here, so the breaking balls are always, kind of, see how it goes when you’re here and if you have to make any adjustments with it,” Melvin said. “So, yeah, maybe not his best command. He threw a lot of pitches (92), but at the end of the day, he gives us five solid innings and gets the win.”

The first hit Hicks allowed was a 420-foot triple to Brenton Doyle off the center-field wall, on an 0-2, two-out fastball in the bottom of the second; Doyle would score on a passed ball charged to catcher Blake Sabol, for a 6-1 deficit.

Hicks did his share to protect that lead, though he had to work out of jams. Back-to-back strikeouts stranded two Rockies in the fourth, and after Colorado scratched across two runs in the fifth, Hicks induced an inning-ending double play. That ended his night (three runs, seven hits, five strikeouts, two walks in 92 pitches).

“Wasn’t my favorite outing, but we battled, made some good pitches toward the end, got the (fifth inning) double play,” Hicks told reporters in the clubhouse. “… I’m not too down on myself. We got the win. Hopefully we get the sweep tomorrow.”

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Reliever Sean Hjelle yielded two hits to the four batters he faced before Taylor Rogers allowed an RBI single to Charlie Blackmon, cutting the Giants’ lead to 7-4 through six innings. The Giants took an 8-4 lead in the eighth, when Chapman’s infield single prompted an errant throw to bring in Conforto, who reached on a nine-pitch, two-out walk.

Giants closer Camilo Duval walked the first two batters he faced in the ninth. Then he induced a double-play grounder, and that involved him rushing over to cover first base for the second out. But Duval’s next pitch resulted in an Ellias Diaz home run, cutting the Giants’ lead to 8-6. That’s as close as Colorado could get, as Duval got Brendan Rogers to ground out to Nick Ahmed to end it.

Conforto finished 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. Sabol went 3-for-4 with an RBI double. Yasztrzemski was 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored.

 

Report: RFK Jr. says worm ‘ate a portion’ of his brain

By Michelle Shen | CNN

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. experienced a series of health issues in recent years, including an abnormality that he said was caused by a worm that entered his brain and then died, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

In 2010, Kennedy, now 70, experienced severe memory loss and mental fog, he said in a deposition two years later. According to the Times, he consulted top neurologists familiar with the medical history of his uncle, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, who had died of brain cancer in 2009. A New York doctor, after reviewing a scan of his brain, told him that his health issues could be “caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” Kennedy said in the 2012 deposition, which concerned a divorce from his second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy. Robert Kennedy said at the time that his earning power had been negatively affected by the cognitive issues, the Times reported.

Around the same time, the Times said, he suffered from mercury poisoning, which can lead to neurological issues such as loss of peripheral vision, muscle weakness and issues with movement, hearing and speech, as well as memory loss. Kennedy told the paper he has recovered from the memory loss and brain fogginess and that the parasite did not require treatment.

In addition, he has grappled for decades with atrial fibrillation, or A-fib, an irregular heartbeat. He told the Times it has been more than a decade since he experienced the condition and said he believes he no longer suffers from it.

Kennedy’s campaign declined to provide his medical records to the Times. In a statement to CNN, Stefanie Spear, a spokesperson for Kennedy’s campaign, said he had “traveled extensively in Africa, South America and Asia” as part of his work as an environmental advocate and said he contracted a parasite in one of those trips.

“The issue was resolved more than 10 years ago and he is in robust physical and mental health. Questioning Mr. Kennedy’s health is a hilarious suggestion, given his competition,” the campaign said, referring to the advanced ages of the 81-year-old President Joe Biden and 77-year-old former President Donald Trump.

In his first public comments after the report published, Kennedy in a social media post offered “to eat 5 more brain worms and still beat President Trump and President Biden in a debate.”

“I feel confident of the result even with a six-worm handicap,” he joked.

Dr. Peter Hotez, an infectious disease expert and Dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told CNN that it’s difficult to fully review Kennedy’s claim without looking at the scans. “It’s an incomplete story,” as he put it.

But, speaking generally, Hotez said people with pork tapeworm infections in their brains — a condition known as neurocysticercosis — more commonly experience seizures and sometimes need to be on anti-seizure medication for a long time because when the worms die, they form a calcified cyst in the brain that can cause the brain to release inflammatory chemicals called cytokines.

The connection to memory problems and dementia is under study, Hotez said. Those symptoms are also associated with mercury poisoning, and Kennedy told the Times that at the time he was diagnosed with that ailment, he was consuming high quantities of tuna and perch.

“Yeah, the worms are not feeding the brain. They are living in the brain,” Dr. Hotez said. The worms get nutrients from the body, but they are not eating the brain tissue, he said.

Pork tapeworm infections can be difficult to diagnose because when the worm is alive it masks itself from detection and doesn’t show up on scans. It’s more common to find the worm after it has died and left behind a calcified cyst in the brain, Hotez said.

Kennedy said he changed his lifestyle following these health episodes, including getting more sleep, traveling less, reducing his fish intake and undergoing chelation therapy that seeks to expel metals in the body.

On the campaign trail, Kennedy has portrayed himself as vibrant and youthful compared to Biden and Trump, engaging in strenuous activities like skiing and weightlifting. Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in February that there were “no new concerns” with the president’s health revealed in a physical and the White House has said no cognitive test was administered as O’Connor did not find it necessary. Trump’s campaign late last year released a letter that made broad statements about his health — including claims that the former president is in “excellent” health and that his cognitive exams “were exceptional” — but did not include information about the types of tests that Trump took or what the results were.

Kennedy’s views on personal health, including his long-held skepticism of certain vaccines, have been a distinctive feature of his public image. He has disputed suggestions that he is “anti-vaccine,” though he is the founder of the Children’s Health Defense, a group that has been accused of spreading falsehoods about vaccines.

This story has been updated with additional details and reaction.

CNN’s Brenda Goodman and Aaron Pellish contributed to this report.