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Barbie collector turned hobby into a 25-year design career at Mattel

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:42:55 GMT

Everyone has a Barbie story to tell.Bill Greening, principal designer for Barbie Signature at Mattel Toys and Barbie Brand Historian, always loves hearing other people’s stories. Greening, a 52-year-old Long Beach resident with roots in Orange County, began as a Barbie collector himself and the hobby led him to work at the company for 25 years.“Some of the Barbie collectors have known me since I was 16, so I think they’re happy to see that there’s a collector that is in the Dreamhouse, somebody in their community has made it to Mattel,” Greening said. “So now, I’m a collector designing for other collectors. That feels rewarding, giving back to my doll community.”Greening has collaborated with celebrities as well as the community and has helped create memories for the millions of kids and adults who get their hands on the popular Barbie dolls.As summer sizzles, “Barbie” is burning hotter than ever in the international consumer psyche. Greta Gerwig’s critically praised new comedy, sta...

49ers’ go-to target at camp is high-flying, football-obsessed Brandon Aiyuk

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:42:55 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Four practices into camp, with four quarterbacks eagerly targeting him, Brandon Aiyuk is undeniably the 49ers’ go-to man.He might be the only person alive not fretting over who will throw the 49ers’ football this season, even though all signs point to that quarterback being Brock Purdy, who idled Sunday before rejoining Monday’s first full-pads practice.Aiyuk is unfazed by this camp’s carousel of quarterbacks, and, yes, reporters are grilling coach Kyle Shanahan why No. 4 option Brandon Allen is getting so many snaps when Trey Lance and Sam Darnold sure could use the reps.Aiyuk’s job, as he sees it in Shanahan’s offense: Be in the right place, at the right time, then make the catch every time.“We’re steps. We’re timing,” Aiyuk said. “So if I’m getting to my spots, quarterbacks are supposed to put the ball in the exact same spot, whether it’s Brock, whether it’s B.A., it doesn’t really matter. Get to your spot ...

Crews work 'challenging' fire at two-story San Pablo home

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:42:55 GMT

(KRON) -- Fire crews battled a two-alarm fire at a two-story home early Sunday morning in San Pablo.The home was unoccupied at the time the fire broke out. Officials say the fire started in the attic. Elderly man dies after being struck by vehicle in Santa Clara According to the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, the fire was challenging to contain due to hoarding conditions along with a steep slope behind the home.

José Ramírez homers twice as Cleveland Guardians beat Chicago White Sox 5-0

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:42:55 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — José Ramírez homered twice and drove in three runs, helping Aaron Civale and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 5-0 on Sunday.Steven Kwan also homered in manager Terry Francona’s 1,927th win, breaking a tie with Casey Stengel for 13th on the career list.Civale (5-2), a potential trade target ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, pitched six innings in his second straight win. He allowed three hits, struck out four and walked two.The 28-year-old right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his last seven starts.Enyel De Los Santos, Trevor Stephan and Emmanuel Clase each pitched an inning after Civale departed, completing a four-hitter.Cleveland (53-53) earned a split of the four-game series.White Sox right-hander Michael Kopech allowed three runs and four hits in five innings. He struck out two and walked five.Kwan led off the fifth with his fifth homer of the season. After Andrés Giménez struck out swinging, Ramírez hit a drive deep to right field for his 17th ...

Giants linebackers Thibodeaux and Ojulari hoping to run up sacks in 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:42:55 GMT

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari are seemingly inseparable on the field for the New York Giants.When practiced started Sunday at training camp, the two outside linebackers warmed up together. They laughed and joked during an early break and when the first-team defense ran drills, they were on opposite ends of the line, ready to pounce and deliver big plays.That was the plan last year, too. The young bookend backers and edge rushers were going to make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks and offenses playing in coordinator Wink Martindale’s aggressive defense.It didn’t happen.The fifth pick overall in the draft, Thibodeaux sustained a knee injury in the preseason, missed the first two regular-season games and started 14 of the next 15 games and two in the playoffs. He finished with four sacks, 49 tackles, 13 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and two recoveries, including a strip-sack for a TD against Washington in December.“Last year...

Blach, 4 relievers lead Rockies over Athletics, 2-0; McMahon drives in both runs

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:42:55 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Ty Blach tossed five strong innings, Ryan McMahon had two hits and drove in both runs, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Oakland Athletics 2-0 on Sunday to salvage the final game of the three-game series.Matt Koch, Brent Suter and Daniel Bard each pitched an inning before Justin Lawrence capped the shutout with a clean ninth to earn his eighth save.Ramón Laureano had two hits and Luis Medina (3-8) allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings for the Athletics.Oakland, which entered the weekend series averaging 3.22 runs, put up a total of 19 runs in its wins Friday and Saturday nights against traditional starters. The Athletics’ bats went silent against Blach, a reliever and designated opener.Blach (1-0), making his second straight start, went a season-high five innings and threw just 11 balls in his 52 pitches. He allowed three hits and only one runner past first base.McMahon provided the run support with an RBI single in the third inning and a two-out double in the fifth to bri...

Josh Palacios hits 2-run home run in 10th, Pirates rally from down 2 twice to top Phillies 6-4

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:42:55 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Josh Palacios hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied twice from two runs down to beat the Phillies 6-4 and clinch the three-game series.With Jared Triolo on as the automatic runner, Palacios led off the 10th by driving a slider from Andrew Vasquez (2-1) 367 feet to right. He celebrated his 28th birthday with his second homer of the season as the Pirates (47-58) took two of three from the Phillies (56-49).Alec Bohm singled to start the 10th for Philadelphia and went to second on a throwing error by Triolo, putting automatic runner Bryce Harper on third. Harper hesitated to run when Trea Turner flew out to right, ultimately charging home when catcher Endy Rodriguez threw to second with Bohm scrambling back to the base. Nick Gonzales’ throw back to Rodriguez beat Harper for the second out. Angel Perdomo (2-1) struck out Edmundo Sosa to end the threat.With two outs in the seventh, Harper bounced a 2-2 pitch down the first-base lin...

Yarbrough’s strong start and Fermin’s homer help Royals sweep Twins 2-1

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:42:55 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Freddy Fermin hit a homer, Maikel Garcia had an RBI double, Ryan Yarbrough gave up one run over seven innings and the Kansas City Royals completed a sweep of the Minnesota Twins 2-1 on Sunday.It’s the first sweep by the Royals since last September, which was also against Minnesota.“You see it every day, these guys work, come out and play hard and to be rewarded with some wins is something that’s really nice to see,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Especially going into an off day, these guys deserve it.”Yarbrough (4-5) had his best start of the season going seven innings, allowing one earned run and giving up seven hits while fanning five. It’s his third quality start of July and he lowered his ERA to 2.19 in the month of July with 15 strikeouts and just two walks.“I think Freddy called a great ball game and we had some good back and forth between innings of what we’re trying to do,” Yarbrough said. “We had a good game plan and made really goo...

El calor sofocante deja a 70 millones de personas bajo alerta en EE.UU., a medida que las temperaturas récord se desplazan por el sur

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:42:55 GMT

(CNN) — A punto de finalizar el mes más caluroso jamás registrado en el planeta, 70 millones de personas están bajo alerta por calor en EE.UU., donde las zonas de las llanuras del sur y el sureste podrían alcanzar temperaturas récord de 46 grados Celsius (115 grados Fahrenheit) o más.Aunque el noreste y el Atlántico medio tendrán cierto alivio este domingo, los avisos de calor excesivo se extienden por más de 10 estados, desde Texas hasta Florida, según el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. El servicio meteorológico advirtió que los índices de calor, que tienen en cuenta la humedad, podrían superar los 40 a 46 grados Celsius (105 a 115 grados Fahrenheit) en el sur de las Llanuras hasta la parte baja del valle del Mississippi y el sureste.La ola de calor duradera continúa sofocando el suroeste a medida que las altas temperaturas se desplazarán hacia el este“Es posible que la próxima semana se registren temperaturas máximas y mínimas récord en estas regiones”, añadió e...

Olson drives in 5 with 2 HRs, including go-ahead shot, as Braves sweep Brewers 8-6

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:42:55 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Matt Olson says it’s no mystery why he’s leading the majors in RBIs.In the Atlanta Braves’ powerful lineup, Olson is often hitting with runners on base.Olson drove in five runs with two homers, including a go-ahead, two-run blast in the eighth, and the Braves beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6 on Sunday to cap their sweep of the high-scoring series.Olson has 35 homers, the most in the NL, and 88 RBIs, the most in the majors. The Braves scored 29 runs in the three-game sweep in the matchup of NL division leaders.“There’s always dudes on base,” Olson said. “I feel like I’m rarely taking at-bats with the bases empty.”The only player in the majors with more homers than Olson is Shohei Ohtani, with 39. Ohtani will bring the Los Angeles Angels into Atlanta for a series beginning Monday night. With the sweep, the Braves won five of six against the Brewers in the last two weeks, including two of three in Milwaukee on July 21-23.“You know you’re proba...