Frustration mounts for Twins’ third baseman Royce Lewis

posted in: All news | 0

Royce Lewis watched his sixth-inning fly ball die on the warning track on Thursday afternoon, landing in the glove of Athletics left fielder Tyler Soderstrom, and retreated back to the first-base dugout at Target Field, where he proceeded to remove his helmet and slam it.

And then, in the far corner of the dugout, he kept slamming it before letting out a yell.

“You go find a nice, private spot and you just let it fly and sometimes you feel mildly better walking away,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Honestly, it’s part of the game. The game can be frustrating.”

It sure has been for Lewis this season and on Thursday, the normally cheerful infielder got to a “boiling point,” which just so happened to be caught on camera.

The Twins third baseman entered the day with his numbers down across the board — his .225 batting average, .287 on-base percentage, .361 slugging percentage, .658 OPS and 77 OPS+ are all career lows — enduring what has essentially amounted to a season-long slump that began at the end of last season.

“When you’re a 9-year-old kid and you get frustrated and lost in your video game over and over again, obviously you have to keep working and figuring out,” Lewis said. “That’s what we’re doing. It’s exactly how it feels.”

The search for answers has been a constant one for Lewis, who said he hasn’t felt comfortable at the plate all year.

“It’s hard to make a full in-season adjustment because you can try that and those 30 at-bats of trial go towards your stats,” Lewis said. “I’m fighting for taking care of myself and my family. I don’t want to put any of those stats in jeopardy. But feeling like I’ve been on an island, it’s kind of tough.”

There was a stretch in which his numbers picked up and things seemed to be on the upswing for Lewis. He hit .293 in the month of July, hitting three of the six home runs this season entering Friday. Within that, he had a particularly good road trip to Colorado and Los Angeles, in which he hit .471 with a 1.644 OPS and eight hits in five games.

But even his better performance, he said, was more because he was around his family, which helped raise his spirits, rather than actually feeling more comfortable at the plate.

“This whole year, it’s felt uncomfortable and I’ve been missing pitches,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if (pitchers are) adjusting or not. They’re middle-middle. A Little League hitter would at least put them in play and I’m fouling them straight back. That’s where it’s frustrating.”

It was easier, he said, to handle some of that frustration when he had “some mentors that were there to help.” But after the Twins shipped off 10 major leaguers at the deadline, now Lewis said he mostly looks to Byron Buxton for mentorship. And though he has close relationships with former players Torii Hunter and Matt Kemp, both two-time Silver Slugger Award winners, he said he feels bad reaching out to ask them for help, too, leading him to feel somewhat alone.

“I feel like I’m kind of on an island and trying to figure it out on my own,” Lewis said. “It’s really hard.”

Related Articles


Almost Twins: Two new players could pass for each other


Twins swept by Athletics, blown out in series finale


Twins miss plenty of opportunities in loss to Athletics


Twins’ Pablo López to begin rehab as trio of starters progress toward return


Joe Ryan forced out early as Twins fall to Athletics

Trump visits a DC gift shop and the Kennedy Center during military crackdown

posted in: All news | 0

By WILL WEISSERT and MICHELLE L. PRICE

WASHINGTON (AP) — With National Guard troops in the streets and federal agents at the door of his former adviser, President Donald Trump spent a heavy dose of his Friday channeling his inner tourist and reliving his bygone days as a sports team owner and construction mogul.

Related Articles


HHS moves to strip thousands of federal health workers of union rights


Justice Dept. declines to defend grants for Hispanic-serving colleges, calling them unconstitutional


2026 World Cup draw will be held at Washington’s Kennedy Center, Trump says


‘Stay out of our city’: Chicago officials slam Trump’s threat to target city in next crime crackdown


Hegseth fires general whose agency’s intel assessment of damage from Iran strikes angered Trump

He stopped by a gift shop near the White House, visited the Kennedy Center that he now chairs and returned to his increasingly gilded Oval Office to trumpet the U.S. cohosting next year’s World Cup.

“We have a lot of fun,” Trump said. “We’re fixing up the whole world.”

The president’s stops around the city came as the nation’s capital is increasingly on edge amid Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and federalization of Washington’s police force in an effort to better curb crime.

Just before he left the White House, officials announced there had been 76 arrests citywide the previous evening as part of the crackdown. The Pentagon also said National Guard troops patrolling the streets of D.C. would soon start carrying weapons.

“We are going to make D.C. totally safe. When people come from Iowa, Indiana, all of the beautiful places, and they come, they’re not going to go home in a body bag,” Trump said after visiting the People’s House exhibit and its gift shop. “They’re not going home in a coffin, and it’s very safe right now.”

With the crackdown now entering its third week, however, many Washington residents and visitors don’t feel as safe as the president suggests, with persisting concerns that the White House is amplifying racist narratives about urban crime and tearing down homeless camps where the most vulnerable live.

Trump has shrugged off criticisms and declared, when asked about the FBI searching the home and office of his former national security adviser John Bolton, “I’m actually the chief law enforcement officer.” Still, he spent far more time looking and acting like a president relishing the parts of the job that make him happiest.

WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 21: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to law enforcement officers alongside Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (R) at the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility on August 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration has deployed federal officers and the National Guard to the District in order to place the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and assist in crime prevention in the nation’s capital. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

At the Kennedy Center, Trump’s activities Friday weren’t public, but he told reporters he’d show off the marble that might be used to refurbish the building — along with other planned renovations, including change the paint on its signature columns from gold to white.

Trump has begun frequently joking about renaming it the Trump Kennedy Center but deadpanned Friday: “We’re not prepared to do that quite yet. Maybe in a week or so.”

WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 21: U.S. President Donald Trump visits the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility on August 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration has deployed federal officers and the National Guard to the District in order to place the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and assist in crime prevention in the nation’s capital. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The president also said he’ll be leading yet more White House renovations — this time on the bathroom attached to the iconic Lincoln Bedroom. It last underwent renovations in 2005.

“We’ll be doing the Lincoln Bathroom which was Art Deco,” Trump said, adding, “We’re making it actually incredible.”

The president even floated the idea of refurbishing the sprawling Old Executive Office Building on the White House grounds, saying it was “such a beautiful building, but it doesn’t look it.”

Trump has already made extensive changes to the White House, redoing the Oval Office to add gold decor, installing patio seating with external speakers around the Rose Garden, erecting two towering flagpoles on its lawn and promising to build a ballroom.

Later in the day, Trump was joined in the Oval Office by FIFA President Gianni Infantino to announce that the Kennedy Center would host the draw for the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, from right, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Vice President JD Vance, Richard Grenell, president of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees and Andrew Giuliani listen in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The former owner of the New Jersey Generals of the USFL, Trump has been heavily promoting sporting events that will take place during his second term, including the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“I just left the Kennedy Center. We’re spending a lot of money wisely and making it really beautiful,” Trump said during the event with Infantino. “It’s going to be beautiful again. It’s like Washington, D.C.”

FACT FOCUS: Posts overestimate number of noncitizens living in US by tens of millions

posted in: All news | 0

By MELISSA GOLDIN

After the Trump administration announced Thursday that it is reviewing the valid visas of more than 55 million people, social media users began using this figure to inflate the number of noncitizens living in the U.S. by tens of millions.

Related Articles


HHS moves to strip thousands of federal health workers of union rights


Justice Dept. declines to defend grants for Hispanic-serving colleges, calling them unconstitutional


2026 World Cup draw will be held at Washington’s Kennedy Center, Trump says


‘Stay out of our city’: Chicago officials slam Trump’s threat to target city in next crime crackdown


Hegseth fires general whose agency’s intel assessment of damage from Iran strikes angered Trump

Posts claimed that these 55 million visa holders, plus about 25 million or more people living in the country illegally, means that nearly a quarter to a third of the people living in the U.S. are not American citizens. The total U.S. population is about 342 million.

But government data contradicts these figures, and experts say the estimates spreading online are highly inflated.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

CLAIM: Approximately 70 million to 100 million people living in the U.S. are not American citizens.

THE FACTS: This is false. There were nearly 22 million noncitizens residing in the U.S. in 2023, according to the latest Census Bureau data. That includes people in the country both legally and illegally.

The 55 million visas, which includes tourist visas, is not representative of U.S. residents, as not everyone with a visa resides in the U.S. The number of people in the U.S. illegally is nearly 14 million, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. Trump routinely inflates the number of people living in the country illegally, the majority of whom he says entered under the Biden administration, most recently citing totals of 25 million to 30 million.

“The 55 million figure is the total number of visa-holders worldwide, not people who are currently in the United States,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. “The 25 million figure for undocumented immigrants is also completely false.”

Still, many social media users overstated the number of noncitizens living in the U.S., pointing to these figures.

“55 million on visas, tens of millions of illegals—close to 100 million are foreign aliens,” reads one X post. “Almost 1/3 of the entire country are foreigners. Completely insane if you really think about it. America has no reason or obligation to tolerate this. If America doesn’t deport the tens of millions it needs to, it will cease to exist as a nation.”

In 2024, there were 3.6 million people residing in the U.S. on temporary visas, such as diplomats, exchange visitors, students, and temporary workers, according to the Department of Homeland Security. This does not include people with tourist visas. An additional 12.8 million people were green card holders.

Experts noted that the 55 million people with U.S. visas includes tens of millions who hold tourist visas, which can last up to 10 years, depending on one’s nationality. The State Department issued nearly 6.5 million tourist visas last year.

“I think no one would consider a tourist who comes to the U.S. for a week or two a U.S. resident,” said Michelle Mittelstadt, a spokesperson for the Migration Policy Institute.

A Pew Research Center report released Thursday estimated that in 2023 there were 14 million people living in the U.S. illegally. Other recent estimates cite similar figures. The Center for Immigration Studies, which calls for restricting immigration, found the number to be 14.2 million as of July. On the lower end, the Center for Migration Studies estimated 12.2 million as of mid-2023.

Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

US releases Emmett Till investigation records ahead of 70th anniversary of his killing

posted in: All news | 0

By GRAHAM LEE BREWER

Just days ahead of the 70th anniversary of his killing, the federal government made public thousands of pages of records Friday on the lynching of Emmett Till.

Related Articles


Being Muslim and American in the nation’s heartland


Colorado governor demands coroner’s resignation after decomposing bodies found in funeral home


New York City allows robotaxi company to test autonomous vehicles in Manhattan and Brooklyn


Trump trumpets deal giving US a 10% stake in downtrodden Intel


Kilmar Abrego Garcia is freed from Tennessee jail so he can rejoin family in Maryland to await trial

The records in the National Archives, released by the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board, detail how the Justice Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights responded to the 1955 killing of 14-year-old Till. The records were released in accordance with the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018.

“Our thoughts are with the Till family,” the National Archives and Records Administration said in a news release.

FILE – This undated photo shows Emmett Louis Till, who was kidnapped, tortured and killed in the Mississippi Delta in August 1955 after witnesses claimed he whistled at a white woman working in a store. (AP Photo, File)

The Chicago teenager was falsely accused of whistling at a white woman at a grocery store in rural Mississippi. Four days later, Till was abducted from a great-uncle’s home in the predawn hours by Roy Bryant and John William “J. W.” Milam. The white men tortured and killed Till in a barn in a neighboring county, and his body was later found in the Tallahatchie River.

Bryant and Milam were charged with murder in Till’s death but were acquitted by an all-white-male jury. Bryant and Milam later confessed to a reporter that they kidnapped and killed Till.

His killing galvanized the Civil Rights Movement after Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on an open casket so that the country could see the brutality. In 2022, President Joe Biden signed a bill named for Till that made lynching a federal hate crime. And in 2023, Biden signed a proclamation establishing a national monument honoring Till and his mother.

FILE – Mamie Till-Mobley weeps at her son’s funeral on Sept. 6, 1955, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Chicago Sun-Times, File)

Many of the records have never been seen by the public. They include reports, telegrams, case files and correspondences and documents from the NAACP, the White House, and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, among others.

The records can be viewed in the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection on the National Archives and Records Administration website.

A member of the Till family did not immediately return a request for comment.