HOUSTON — Framber Valdez pitched no-hit ball into the seventh inning and Yordan Alvarez hit two of Houston’s four homersin the Astros’ 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.

Valdez (4-3) didn’t allow a hit until a single to start the seventh. He yielded the two hits and a run with four strikeouts in seven innings.

Alvarez hit a two-run home run off Joe Ryan (4-4) in the first and his solo shot off the starter in the fifth inning made it 5-0. It’s the third multi-homer game of the season for Alvarez and 18th of his career.

Struggling first baseman José Abreu hit his first home run and second extra-base hit of the season in the second inning. Kyle Tucker added a homer in the third to give him 19 this season, which ranks second in the majors behind Aaron Judge’s 20.

Houston led 5-2 with one out in the ninth when Jake Meyers made a leaping catch at wall in center field to rob Byron Buxton of a homer. Closer Josh Hader raised both arms high in the air after the catch and Buxton, a fellow center fielder, tipped his helmet to Meyers.

Hader then struck out Willi Castro to get his eighth save.

Valdez sailed through the first six innings. He walked Manuel Margot to start the fourth and plunked Kyle Farmer to open the sixth but had faced the minimum thanks to double plays in both innings.

Valdez got some help from his defense for the first out of the third. Tucker made a leaping catch just before crashing into the right field wall on a fly ball hit by Farmer.

The Twins got their first hit when Margot singled on a grounder to center field to start the seventh. Margot moved to second on a wild pitch with one out before scoring on a two-out single by Jose Miranda that cut the lead to 5-1.

An RBI single by Carlos Correa got the Twins within 5-2 with two outs in the eighth.

Tucker walked in the first before the first homer by Alvarez made it 2-0.

There were two outs in the second when Abreu’s shot pushed the lead to 3-0. Abreu was playing his fourth game in the majors after spending almost a month in the minors to work on his swing after a terrible start to the season.

Tucker’s home run to right center came with one out in the third to make it 4-0. There were two outs in the fifth when Alvarez connected again.

Ryan yielded eight hits, including four homers and five runs — all season highs — in five innings.

Minnesota Twins’ Byron Buxton (25) tips his helmet to Houston Astros center fielder Jake Meyers after Meyers caught a fly fall by Buxton during the ninth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 1, 2024, in Houston. The Astros won 5-2. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

DULUTH, Minn. — As the DFL convention in Duluth enters its second day Saturday, delegates will debate more than 100 items that will set the party’s agenda this year. Among those is a proposed ban on copper-nickel mining, also called copper-sulfide mining, which lacks a proven track record of complying with state and federal environmental laws.

Following a failure to bring such legislation forward this year at the Capitol, the issue may come to a head this weekend, with what looks like a choice for the DFL — promote mining and union jobs, or protect the environment.

Historically, the DFL has sought a balance on mining issues in the Iron Range. However, the issue has been fertile ground for the St. Louis County Republican Party, whose pro-mining and increasingly pro-union stance has attracted growing support from unionized miners and working-class voters in northeastern Minnesota. That has led to frustration in another DFL core constituency, environmentalists.

DFL party leaders declined to comment on the proposed mining ban and surrounding issues, saying it is an agenda item that delegates will discuss this weekend.

Two centers of power

The two traditional centers of DFL power in Minnesota, the Twin Cities and the Iron Range, are increasingly at odds over how to manage the state’s natural resources, said Pete Marshall, communications director of Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, an environmental advocacy group.

While northeastern Minnesota has generally focused on labor and mining, the Twin Cities portion of the party has worked to conserve the wilderness area, Marshall said, adding that while he’s seeing more people moving toward clean water initiatives in the Iron Range, he has also seen people shift right on socially conservative issues in the Northland.

“On a statewide level, it’s a safe gamble for (the DFL) to oppose clean water acts because the environmental caucus is pretty much a captured constituency,” Marshall said.

Supporters of the legislation have pushed for about a decade to have the issue debated by legislators, according to Marshall.

“Minnesota is uniquely blessed with the amount of water we have, and we need to take some active measures to protect it, given all the threats that are there,” he said. “I think the DFL leadership should at least hear out what their constituents say, hear out what a lot of their supporters say about clean water and not be afraid of the issue.”

Other issues

Despite its history as a DFL stronghold, the Iron Range has, in some ways, moved away from the DFL during the past decade. Iron Range Republicans have increasingly become outwardly pro-union, and social issues such as abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and opposition to racial and gender equity programs in schools have allowed them to make some inroads in the region.

Such issues, playing out at the ballot box, could threaten the DFL’s thin margins in the House. Adding on to the urgency of party messaging in an election year, Rep. Dave Lislegard, DFL-Aurora, will not seek reelection to the Minnesota House of Representatives this fall, leaving a possible seat for Republicans to target.

Another topic sure to be brought up this weekend is the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza. There are at least five resolutions by local party members regarding the war that will be brought up during the convention. Some call for a ceasefire or ending financial support to Israel until it complies with international law, while others are focused on the right of Israel to exist as a state.

“We welcome different opinions on a whole host of issues, including Gaza and what’s happening in the Middle East,” DFL Party Chair Ken Martin previously told Forum News Service. “There’s a lot of different ideas and thoughts on that issue within our party, and you’ll see that talked about (during the convention).”

The DFL, especially in Greater Minnesota, has a tough needle to thread this election, according to Hamline University political science professor David Schultz.

“How do you support economic development, which may include mining, but at the same time, essentially an agenda that is pro-environment, especially as it is being pushed in the Twin Cities amongst some of the activists?” he said.

While Republicans face something of an identity crisis, Democrats have seemingly failed to come to a resolution on the mining and environment issue, according to Schultz.

“The Republicans can’t figure out who they are and what they stand for, but they know what they’re against,” he said. “Democrats are fighting the same fights they’ve been fighting for at least a quarter-century at this point.”

Copper-sulfide mining issue at the Legislature

That fight was highlighted earlier this year when Sen. Jennifer McEwen, DFL-Duluth, took part in a public hearing to address copper-sulfide mining. She told Forum News Service at the time that corporate interests have kept the issue of copper-sulfide mining off legislators’ tables.

“There’s a lot of anger and frustration amongst clean water activists in Minnesota with DFL leadership in general, and there’s good reason for that,” she said.

That anger stems from the lack of a hearing in the state Senate on what is known as the “Prove It First” bill, which states that before a copper-sulfide mine in Minnesota can be permitted, there must be independent scientific proof that a copper-sulfide mine has operated elsewhere in the United States for at least 10 years without causing pollution and that a mine has been closed for at least 10 years without causing pollution.

McEwen, a co-author of the Senate bill, said the Legislature has not heard a bill regarding copper-sulfide mining in at least a decade, which she called “legislative malpractice.”

“The fact that we have had the Democratic Party leadership in the administration, in the Senate, in the House now, for a number of years and we still haven’t had that hearing has a lot of people very upset,” she said.

The type of mining the bill seeks to regulate is different than current iron and taconite mining in Minnesota, according to McEwen.

“We are simply asking this industry to prove that they can do this safely before we would consider permitting their projects in such a water-rich environment with so much at stake,” she said.

Related Articles

MN Legislature: Classroom cellphone restrictions, a ban on book bans passed this session

At state convention in Duluth, DFL nominates Amy Klobuchar for Senate run

MN GOP Senate candidates Joe Fraser, Royce White to face off in primary, winner takes on Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Sen. Nicole Mitchell says she won’t step down after DFL call for resignation

Here’s what outdoors bills passed in Minnesota this session

Amy Lindgren

Graduation season inspires advice from everyone it seems. Aunts, uncles, hairdressers and friends’ parents all have something important to say about your future and what you should do about it.

Well, me too. I hate to miss out on a good advice-fest, so if you’re newly graduated from a college or training program, I have some tips for you. There are no big ideas here; just some things you want to pay attention to while everything’s still fresh.

(Note that these are mostly geared toward traditional-age grads, so watch for another batch geared to adult graduates coming soon.)

Putzy logistical stuff

• Check your diploma for accuracy. Seriously. If there’s a mistake there, you could have one on your transcript too. A small correction now could save a big headache down the road.

• Confirm which online resources can still be used at your alma mater. If you need to switch to a non-school email address, for example, sooner is better than later.

• Ask about available career resources. Some schools offer placement assistance while others provide job leads. There may also be career counseling or job search advice, sometimes at no charge for a certain period post-graduation.

• Figure out your student loan repayment, if applicable. Even if repayment won’t start for a few months, knowing all the facts lets you make good plans.

• Check on health insurance. If you were covered as part of your tuition, you need to confirm when that ends and what your options for coverage are now.

Job search stuff

• Update or create your LinkedIn profile. Even a basic version will help, as recruiters will sometimes run broad searches to find new candidates. If you know the field you want to enter, make that clear in the headline and in the “About” section.

• Update your résumé. You almost certainly made one for a class or career fair. Now’s the time to ensure you have the file available and that your recent school or work experiences are included. Again, if you know your work goals, go ahead and focus your résumé to showcase related skills and training.

• Think about what you want to do next. If you don’t have career goals yet, don’t panic. One option is to start exploration steps, perhaps with informational interviews or meetings with a career counselor. Another option is to take volunteer or lower-level positions in a field you’re considering, to check things out. Both options work, so don’t worry that you’re taking the wrong path.

Life stuff

• Decide where to live. Twenty-somethings frequently choose to live at home with family while saving for a place. If you take this route, make a savings plan to ensure it happens. Another option gets you out in the world faster but has you eating ramen longer: sharing housing with others in the same situation.

• Guard your mental health. Easier said than done, but you may already know your triggers for sadness or depression or anxiety. Big achievements (such as a graduation) can lead to a letdown when the hoopla fades away. If you already have a counselor or a mental health routine, it’s important to keep that going while you’re in transition. If not, now might be a good time to start on those practices.

• Hang onto your money. Even if you land a solid job right away, it’s smart to keep your expenses low while you figure out where your new degree can take you.

And the big three

These are things I recommend to all new graduates, as a way to keep the motor running while other things come into focus.

• 1. Take a job right away, even if it’s minimum wage or part-time. You need the structure, the money, and the credibility. If you get a career position soon after, that’s awkward but better than having no job for months on end just to avoid having to quit something.

• 2. Start volunteering right away. This will help with mental health, self-esteem, and your general sense of being a good person.

• 3. Join an exercise group. Play basketball on Tuesdays or go running with friends in the morning or plan bike trips for the weekend. Whatever it is, you’ll benefit from the social aspects and the physical routine.

And a final word: Don’t sweat the whole career thing, but — if you’re not feeling on track by fall, consider asking for help. Sometimes all it takes is new information or fresh ideas for things to line up.

Congratulations, graduate. On you go!

Related Articles

Working Strategies: Avoiding the ‘Tell us about yourself’ trap

Working Strategies: No, ‘working vacation’ is not an oxymoron

Working Strategies: Networking into your new career

Working Strategies: Tailoring résumés for online applications, and people

Working Strategies: Résumé formatting tips

Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Acknowledging only “an uptick” in Israeli military activity, the United States has gone to lengths to avoid any suggestion that Israeli forces have crossed a red line set by President Joe Biden in the deepening offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

In just the past week, Israeli strikes that hit displaced families sheltering in tents drew international condemnation and Israel confirmed that its forces were operating in the city’s center. Still, Biden administration officials say Israel has avoided massive attacks on what had been thickly crowded neighborhoods of Rafah and kept strikes more limited and targeted than earlier in its nearly 8-month-old war with Hamas.

That refrain underscores an increasingly isolated U.S. position.

Critics charge that Biden, who declared early last month that he would not supply offensive weapons if Israel launched an all-out assault on Rafah, has come up against a domestic red line of his own and decided not to cross it: challenging ally Israel, which has support from Republicans and many American voters, in an election year.

Administration officials “keep moving the goalposts when it comes to the Rafah operation, saying, ‘You know, we won’t let the Israelis do X, Y or Z,’” said Colin Clarke, an international security expert and research director at the Soufan Center, a research center. “And then somebody says, ‘Well, aren’t they doing that?’”

“So they’ve been playing semantics around what the Rafah operation constitutes,” he said. “I think if it weren’t an election year, you would see the president being a lot more forceful.”

Administration officials insist Israel has changed its tactics in an effort to reduce civilian deaths as the military sweeps through the city and targets Hamas operatives — even as humanitarian conditions worsen. Some 1 million Palestinians have fled the Rafah offensive and are sheltering in squalid tent camps, and aid is only trickling into the territory. The United Nations estimates as few as 200,000 to 300,000 people still remain.

“We have been clear about what this isn’t, which is not a major military operation,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said Thursday. He referred to Israeli strikes on the outskirts of the city and seizure of an adjoining border region with Egypt as an “uptick.”

Pressed on the question, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that there’s “no mathematical formula” to determining when and if the Rafah assault has gone beyond the conditions set by the Democratic president.

The U.S. would be looking at whether the operation was causing “a lot of death and destruction” or was “more precise and proportional,” Sullivan said.

Unlike earlier in the Israeli drive to cripple Hamas militants in Gaza, Israelis have conveyed their specific battlefield goals and plans for getting there in the Rafah offensive, a senior administration official said Friday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to brief reporters under ground rules set by the White House, said if those plans change and Israel goes back to earlier tactics, “that might be a different story.”

Israel launched its war in Gaza after attacks by Hamas killed about 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7. More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed since then, many of them women and children. Fighting and Israeli restrictions on aid shipments through border crossings mean nearly all 2.3 million people in Gaza are facing severe hunger. U.N. officials say famine has already started in the north.

It was the Israeli operation against Hamas in Rafah that brought on the strongest warnings from Biden last month about how Israel was conducting the war and that the U.S. could cut its supply of offensive weapons. The population of Rafah had swelled to some 1.3 million as Israeli offensives to the north pushed Palestinian civilians south.

“If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons,” Biden told CNN on May 9. He indicated the red line as being an attack on “population centers” in the city.

At about the same time, U.S. officials confirmed that the administration had suspended a shipment of heavy bombs to Israel to ensure they were not dropped on Rafah.

Republicans’ condemnation of Biden’s move was fast and fierce. Soon after, the chief prosecutor for the world’s top war crimes court sought an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the top U.N. court ordered Israel to cease its operations in Rafah, increasing the political pressure on the U.S. and Israel.

Brian Finucane, a former State Department official who is now a senior adviser for the International Crisis Group, notes “changes in tone and tenor” in the administration’s public comments toward Israel from around that time. Biden said the effort for a Netanyahu arrest warrant was “outrageous.”

Administration warnings and threats to Israel over the Rafah campaign ebbed. Biden, un a White House address Friday to urge Hamas to accept an Israeli proposal for a cease-fire and hostage release, made only a passing mention of the operation there, noting widely circulated images of children killed in an Israeli strike last Sunday that burned some of 45 victims alive.

Far more important than whether the U.S. scolds or only echoes Israeli talking points, Finucane said, is “what the administration actually does in terms of policy … to bring about a shift in what’s actually happening on the ground in Gaza.”

___

Associated Press writers Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.

Related Articles

Biden details a 3-phase hostage deal aimed at winding down the Israel-Hamas war

Israel confirms its forces are in central Rafah in expanding offensive in the southern Gaza city

Pamela Paul: What flies on campus won’t necessarily fly in the bigger world off campus

Marc Champion: Yes, Israel is being held to a different standard. But …

The US-built pier in Gaza broke apart. Here’s how we got here and what might be next