Twins starting pitcher Chris Paddack had a message for all lending an ear after Minnesota’s 12-5 win in Cincinnati on Thursday afternoon.

“Make sure y’all vote Buck for the All-Star game,” he told reporters.

Byron Buxton’s current play certainly deserves such a stage.

The Twins’ center fielder homered in each of the first two innings to help snap Minnesota’s six-game losing streak and bring the club back to .500 on the year (37-37). For the second straight game, Buxton opened the proceedings with a leadoff home run.

And for the second straight game, Minnesota’s starting pitcher relinquished the 1-0 advantage by surrendering a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame. That spelled doom for the Twins on Wednesday, as the offense outside dried up in a 4-2, rain-shortened defeat.

But as Paddack returned to the dugout after giving up those runs on Thursday, Buxton came over and told him, “Keep us right there, and we’ll be just fine.”

He wasn’t lying.

Kody Clemens turned hard on a ball and kept it inside the right field foul pole to put Minnesota back up 3-2 in the second frame. Next up was Buxton. He delivered the same result, and suddenly it was 4-2 Twins.

There was no slowing down the Minnesota bats on this occasion. The Twins chased Reds starter Nick Martinez midway through the third frame, putting seven earned runs on his ledger before his exit.

Minnesota scored multiple runs in the second, third and fourth innings, and led 9-4 through three and a half frames.

“Guys were seeing it well, a lot of crooked numbers there in the first four innings,” Paddack said. “So, definitely getting some run support early as a starter, it takes a little stress off your shoulders where you can go out there, compete, be aggressive in the zone.”

Paddack noted Thursday was perhaps the most fatigued he’d been all season, calling it a “grinding” start. He said Cincinnati features a low-sloped mound that makes it feel as though “we’re throwing on flat ground.” So, he didn’t have the same velocity and bite on his stuff.

But he and catcher Ryan Jeffers adjusted and devised a plan to be aggressive early in counts against the Reds’ patient hitters and pound the lower half of the zone. Paddack (3-6) threw scoreless frames in the fourth and fifth innings to earn the win.

“Walking off the mound with Rocco shaking my hand,” Paddack said, “it definitely was a positive.”

As was the entire day for a team that’s struggled so mightily of late. Minnesota had dropped 10 of its last 12 contests entering Thursday’s bout, effectively erasing its previous hot stretch of play.

Frustrations were seemingly let out with each swing in the matinee. The Twins tallied a whopping 17 hits. Everyone who stepped to the plate for Minnesota on Thursday recorded at least one. Carlos Correa went 3 for 5. Jeffers — who also homered — Clemens and Ty France also had multi-hit outings.

“We were relentless early in the game, and then we stayed on it and had some good at bats throughout the game,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters. “We continued to put ourselves in a good position to score a bunch of runs. Great day for the offense and, overall, just a lot of positives.”

It was Buxton leading the charge.

He tacked on a double to go with his two home runs as his torrid pace at the plate continues to pair beautifully with his heroics in the outfield.

“He’s been in a good, relaxed place. You might call it ‘the zone,’” Baldelli said. “Whatever you want to call it, he’s playing great. Seeing the ball good. Had another good day at the plate. Swinging at good pitches, really attacking and barreling them up. Just another incredible effort.”

Buxton has homered in each of his last three games. Over the last 10 days, his batting average has spiked from .258 to .280.

“He’s played a lot of games where he’s just taking over the game. He’s doing a lot of the heavy lifting, and he likes it. I think it fires him up. His teammates are fired up, too, watching it,” Baldelli said. “But he’s exuding a lot of confidence right now. It takes a lot for him to do that, because he’s kind of a reserved guy in some ways, but I think he’s loving the way he’s playing right now, and I’m loving the way he’s playing right now.”

Buxton is breathing life into a Twins’ team that was in major need of a jolt. He provided one. Now, the challenge is to keep the electricity pumping as Minnesota returns home for a seven-game homestand, which opens Friday against Milwaukee.

“We played some tight ballgames on the trip. I’m fine grabbing the win today, getting on the “Overall, some things that we want to do better, something that we did well. We’ve got some guys playing well right now,” Baldelli said. “We should just ride today’s momentum into tomorrow and get back to work.”

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By DAVID BAUDER

In the early days of Israel’s attack on Iran, U.S.-operated Radio Farda, which broadcasts in the Persian language in Iran, debunked a state media report that an Israeli pilot had been shot down and captured.

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Its journalism has continued despite the Trump administration’s threat to its future, along with a Persian-language television outlet run by Voice of America.

Radio Farda, a branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and based in Prague, has continued broadcasting even though its managing editor estimated that more than half of its staff had been furloughed. VOA’s Persian staff, ordered to go on administrative leave in March, was suddenly ordered back to work Friday afternoon.

“We’ve been giving information to Iranians minute by minute about the conflict,” said Golnaz Esfandiari, managing editor of Radio Farda. That includes explanatory stories about Iran’s nuclear program and short videos posted on social media, she said.

Several Iranians have contacted the radio network to express appreciation for reporting that they do not get on Iranian state media, she said. Traffic to its website was up 77% on Friday compared with the 30-day average. At the same time, families in Iran of five Radio Farda staff members have been pressured by people in the government who want to see the broadcasts stopped, she said.

Through the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the Trump administration has sought to dismantle or sharply curtail the government-funded outlets that provide news reports to countries where there isn’t a tradition of free press. The administration says these services operate with a liberal bias.

Both Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty are fighting the efforts in court.

Employees at Voice of America’s Persian service were notified in an email Friday from Crystal Thomas, the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s human resources director, that they were being recalled and needed to report to work immediately.

Kari Lake, who is running that agency, told Fox News that “we are ramping up — as we’ve always planned to do — to meet this historic moment.”

One person who got that email was at the office within three hours and worked until midnight, helping to put out a one-hour broadcast, said the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak to the press. About 50 people have returned to work. Voice of America is banned in Iran, but many of its citizens find ways through the internet to bypass the ban.

Voice of America’s broadcasts — and social media posts — have become a challenge to produce because the administration has canceled subscriptions to news services like The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse, said a second employee, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

For the employees, it’s a stressful time, putting out urgent news reports without any sense of how long — or whether — they will continue to have a job.

“I’m grateful they’ve brought back our Persian service to continue their role as a trusted voice covering the region for the Iranian people,” said Patsy Widakuswara, VOA’s White House correspondent, who is a plaintiff in the court fight to keep the agency alive.

“But why smash a working system only to cobble it back together when you realize you need it?” Widakuswara asked. “And how many crises would it take for them to realize that all VOA language services are important — before, after and during breaking news?”

During video reports posted online this week, a Voice of America anchor explained where Iranian counterattacks were landing in Israel, and how Iranians were trying to send out information about what is happening through social media.

The danger for a service like VOA, having been off the air and off social media for more than two months, is that Iranian citizens will become accustomed to looking elsewhere for news, said Tom Kent, a media consultant and former president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

“You would hope that people would learn from this that international broadcasting cannot be turned on and off like a lightbulb,” said Kent, also a former AP editor.

Despite an Israeli airstrike on its headquarters Monday while the Republic of Iran News Network was broadcasting live, the state-run news service is still operating.

Radio Farda has stayed on the air despite cutbacks. It also continues to have access to news services like the AP, but those contracts will expire at the end of the month, Esfandiari said. Three people have been brought back from furlough to help cover the war, she said.

She said she hopes the conflict lets people who question the service’s existence know its value.

“It’s an information war, absolutely,” Esfandiari said. “These countries — Iran, Russia and China — would be very happy if we were gone.”

One of the VOA employees called back to work said they have not been told how long it will be for. Despite evidence this week that someone in the administration saw value in what they do, might they still lose their job eventually?

“I don’t want to think about that,” the person said.

This story has been corrected to reflect the name of Radio Farda’s managing editor, Golnaz Esfandiari, not Golnaz Esfandiani.

The Associated Press’ Jon Gambrell and Kamran Jebreili contributed to this report. David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

The first big heat wave of the season will hit the Twin Cities this weekend, with temperatures of up to 97 degrees and heat index values of 105 to 110 expected.

An extreme heat warning will be in effect from noon Saturday to 9 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures on Saturday will be in the mid 70s to lower 80s overnight.

“We probably won’t be getting any relief from the heat, including at night, until we get into Monday and a cold front moves through,” said meteorologist Tyler Hasenstein of the National Weather Service’s Twin Cities office.

For people without access to air conditioning, these overnight temperatures don’t give their body enough time to recover from the heat of the day, making it difficult to stay cool and hydrated, Hasenstein said. He recommended cold beverages, cold foods and anything frozen to help bring down body temperatures overnight.

During the day, cooling centers like libraries and rec centers are open to help the public escape the dangerous heat. People can look up which cooling centers are nearest to them in Ramsey, Dakota and Hennepin counties.

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As another graduation season winds down, a new generation of young people is asking life’s big question: What’s next?

Some are stepping off high school stages. Others are exiting four-year universities with degrees in hand — and often, with tens of thousands of dollars in student debt. Across the board, they’re entering a job market shaped by uncertainty: rising living costs, a shifting economy, and questions about whether the paths they were told to follow still make sense.

Here’s a bold idea for those wondering where to go next: Look to the trades.

I work every day with plumbing, heating, cooling, and electrical businesses across the country — companies that don’t just keep our homes running but keep our communities safe, comfortable, and efficient. And while the headlines often focus on labor shortages, project delays, and an aging workforce — all very real concerns — I see something more powerful: progress.

The truth is, the trades aren’t just facing a workforce challenge. They’re solving it.

There are hundreds of forward-looking, family-owned operations in our region that are building trade academies, launching apprenticeship programs, and partnering with professional schools and workforce centers to train the next generation of skilled workers — often from scratch, and often with impressive results.

And here’s the kicker: the opportunity is already here. Entry-level technicians in plumbing, HVAC, and electrical fields typically start between $53,900 and $60,600 a year — well above the average starting salary for Bachelor of Arts graduates, which often hovers in the $30,000–$40,000 range. For many young people, these jobs provide not only immediate income but long-term security, a clear career path, and freedom from student-loan debt.

Skilled trades careers are hands-on, high-impact and future-proof. You can’t outsource a furnace repair in January. You can’t automate a flooded basement cleanup. These jobs are essential, resilient and deeply rooted in service. That’s why they’ve become so attractive not only to high school graduates, but also to veterans, career changers, and college grads seeking more purposeful work.

The shift is overdue. For too long, we’ve treated the trades as a fallback rather than a first-choice career. That perception is finally changing. Today’s home services companies use AI to schedule jobs, streamline diagnostics and enhance customer service. They combine real-world problem-solving with cutting-edge technology, and they’re doing it in shops that feel more like tech startups than old-school garages.

We’re seeing more veterans find their footing — and thrive — in the trades, bringing with them leadership, discipline and a mission-driven mindset. Many go on to launch their own companies, creating jobs and economic opportunity in their communities.

This is workforce development in action. Quietly, consistently, family-owned companies in the trades are building one of the most effective and inclusive training pipelines in the country. They’re not waiting for someone else to solve the problem — they’re doing it themselves, and doing it well.

If you’re a young person trying to figure out your future, or a parent looking to guide your child into a secure and fulfilling path, don’t overlook the trades. If you’re a policymaker or educator, invest in the businesses that are already growing talent locally. And if you’re just someone who believes in American ingenuity, take pride in what these companies are accomplishing — one apprentice, one hire, one training cohort at a time.

The future of the trades isn’t a question mark. It’s a foundation — and one that’s already being built.

Julian Scadden is president and CEO of Nexstar Network, a 33-year-old, member-owned organization headquartered in Bloomington serving more than 700 independent plumbing, HVAC, and electrical home services companies since 1992. Nexstar is on a mission to help the world’s best tradespeople become the world’s best businesspeople.