At CWEB, we are always looking to expand our network of strategic investors and partners. If you're interested in exploring investment opportunities or discussing potential partnerships and serious inquiries. Contact:jacque@cweb.com
Nico Hoerner had two hits, two walks and two RBIs to help the Chicago Cubs to a 6-3 win against the visiting Colorado Rockies in the second game of their three-game series on Saturday afternoon.
Christopher Morel homered and Miles Mastrobuoni had two hits and scored two runs for the Cubs (81-74), who have won two straight after losing seven of eight.
Chicago maintained its one-game lead over the Miami Marlins for the final wild-card spot in the National League.
Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman returned to the starting rotation for the first time since July 31 and allowed three runs and five hits in three innings. He struck out two and walked one.
Stroman was relieved by Javier Assad (5-3) — who was listed to start Sunday’s series finale. Assad threw four scoreless innings, allowing two hits with six strikeouts and no walks.
Rockies starter Chris Flexen allowed two runs and five hits in five innings. He struck out one and walked two.
Ezequiel Tovar had three hits and a run scored and Brenton Doyle had two hits and an RBI for the Rockies (56-98), who have lost six in a row.
Nick Mears (0-1) started the seventh for Colorado and walked Mike Tauchman, Hoerner and Ian Happ to start the inning, throwing just one of 13 pitches for a strike.
Justin Lawrence entered and gave up a sacrifice fly to Cody Bellinger for a 4-3 lead but prevented further damage.
Chicago reliever Julian Merryweather escaped a bases-loaded one-out jam in the eighth before Morel’s 25th homer of the season made it 5-3 in the bottom half of the frame. Hoerner added an RBI single later in the inning for a 6-3 lead.
After Happ delivered an RBI double in the first, Stroman surrendered three runs in the Colorado second to put Chicago behind 3-1.
An RBI single by Elias Diaz tied the score 1-1 before a wild pitch brought home another run to give the Rockies a 2-1 lead.
Stroman got the second out of the inning, but Doyle dropped an RBI double into left-center field to make it 3-1.
The Cubs cut it to 3-2 on Hoerner’s sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.
Jake Bird started the sixth for the Rockies and gave up an RBI double to Yan Gomes to tie the score 3-3.
A U.S. government shutdown is looking inevitable for Sunday as the Senate and House of Representatives remain at odds over the size of its budget for the next 12 months, continued aid for Ukraine to fight Russia, immigration controls at the U.S.-Mexican border and social welfare programs to help impoverished Americans.
The Democratic-controlled Senate is working on a seven-week funding plan that would keep the government fully open through mid-November to give lawmakers more time to set spending levels through September 2024.
However, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, with a narrow Republican majority in his chamber, has already rejected putting the Senate plan to a House vote.
Instead, the House voted late Thursday on amendments to yearlong appropriations bills for four government agencies. The bills have little chance of Senate approval and, in any event, would not prevent a Saturday midnight shutdown of nonessential government operations.
Government agencies on Thursday morning began notifying their workers that a shutdown could be in the offing.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell warned lawmakers about the dire effects of shutting down part of the government, especially difficulties in controlling the influx of migrants at the country’s southern border with Mexico.
“Shutting down the government is not like pressing pause,” McConnell said. “It’s not an interlude that lets us pick up where we left off. It’s an actively harmful proposition. And instead of producing any meaningful policy outcomes, it would actually take the important progress being made on a number of key issues and drag it backward.”
If a short-term funding deal cannot be reached, more than 4 million U.S. military service personnel and government workers would not be paid, although essential services, such as air traffic control outlets and official border entry points would still be staffed. Pensioners might not get their monthly government payments on time to pay bills and buy groceries, and national parks could be closed.
Organic Greek Vitamin Bottles and Multivitamin Gummies
Such shutdowns have occurred four times in the last decade in the U.S., but often have lasted just a day or two until lawmakers reach a compromise to fully restart government operations. But one shutdown that occurred during the administration of former President Donald Trump lasted 35 days as he unsuccessfully sought funding to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.
As thousands of migrants are again walking daily across the southwestern U.S. border, immigration controls remain as one of the sticking points in setting the U.S. government spending levels and policies for the fiscal year that begins Sunday.
McCarthy reached a deal in May with President Joe Biden, a Democrat, on spending levels for fiscal 2024, but a small fraction of far-right House Republicans rejected the deal and now is demanding further spending cuts.
The McCarthy-Biden deal called for $1.59 trillion in discretionary spending in fiscal 2024, but some of the right-wing members of the House Freedom Caucus are demanding another $120 billion in cuts and further border controls. The cuts would be a relatively small portion of the overall $6.4 trillion U.S. budget and would not affect pension payments or government-provided health insurance for older Americans.
Some of the most conservative lawmakers also want to sharply pare or end U.S. aid to Ukraine, even as more mainstream Republican lawmakers still staunchly support the Ukraine fight against Russia’s invasion as essential to U.S. national security and protection of NATO countries in Europe.
The Senate’s short-term spending plan through mid-November could possibly win passage in the House, but only with a mix of Republican and Democratic votes.
In politically contentious Washington, the hardline Republican lawmaker’s intent on cutting spending have threatened to try to oust McCarthy from his speakership if he tries to pass a spending bill with any Democratic votes.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that, according to anonymous sources, a group of far-right House Republicans is scheming to remove McCarthy as House speaker as soon as next week and replacing him with one of his allies, Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota.
The Post said it is not clear whether the group will actually go forward with their plan or if the politicians will instead just use their plan to express their displeasure with McCarthy. Either way, such a move would undoubtedly add even more confusion to the talks on Capitol Hill amid the possibility of a government shutdown.
Biden told a group of donors at a fundraiser in San Francisco on Wednesday, “I think that the speaker is making a choice between [retaining] the speakership and American interests.”
McCarthy suggested Tuesday that a shutdown could be avoided if Biden would negotiate on border issues.
“Call us up, let’s sit down and get this done before the end of the day,” McCarthy said. But Trump, the leading 2024 Republican presidential candidate to run against Biden as he seeks reelection, has taken to social media to push his congressional allies toward a shutdown.
Celebrity WEB Update— Premier Jewelry designer and manufacturer fashion house ParisJewelry.com has started manufacturing a new custom line of celebrity jewelry designs with 30% Off and Free Shipping. Replenish Your Body- Refilter Your Health with OrganicGreek.com Vitamin Bottles, Vitamins and Herbs. Become a WebFans Creator and Influencer.
Last month, Smithfield Foods, Inc., the largest hog farmer, and meat processor in the world, agreed to be purchased by Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd. for USD $4.7 billion. The agreement represents the largest purchase of an American corporation by China in history.
Americans recognize the brands Farmland, Armour, Cook’s, and Smithfield for its packaged pork products on grocery shelves.
The mega-pork purchase quickly sparked criticism and handwringing among Americans who worry about Chinese economic supremacy. However, a lot of analysts reluctantly concur that the acquisition will benefit Smithfield and the US pork industry beneficial for the US beef business if political leaders are successful in using the agreement to pressure China to reform its trade practices.
Although Smithfield has a far lower market value than its Chinese rival, it generates twice as much income. While the market for pigs in the US is static, Chinese consumers are becoming wealthier and increasing the amount of pork in their diet.
With Smithfield and four other businesses dominating roughly three-quarters of the country’s pig processing market, the US pork industry is already very consolidated. Any US business that desired Smithfield would have been confronted with federal antitrust obstacles. Shuanghui will be subject to regulatory examination by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the US, which carefully examines these purchases.
Organic Greek Vitamin Bottles and Multivitamin Gummies
Chinese meat processor Shuanghui International Holdings has agreed to buy No. 1 pork producer Smithfield Foods for $4.7 billion, in what may be the largest purchase of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm.
Under the terms of the agreement, Smithfield shareholders will receive $34 per share, a 31% premium over the company’s Tuesday closing stock price of $25.97. The price of Smithfield stock on Wednesday rose 28% to $33.35.
The firms estimate the overall deal worth, including debt, to be around $7.1 billion.
The merger has been accepted by the boards of both enterprises, but it still needs approval from Smithfield shareholders and American regulators, such as the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment. The group examines foreign investments in American businesses for potential threats to national security. It is composed of officials from nine government departments, including the Treasury and the Justice Department.
Celebrity WEB Update— Premier Jewelry designer and manufacturer fashion house ParisJewelry.com has started manufacturing a new custom line of celebrity jewelry designs with 30% Off and Free Shipping. Replenish Your Body- Refilter Your Health with OrganicGreek.com Vitamin Bottles, Vitamins and Herbs. Become a WebFans Creator and Influencer.
Costco (COST) is more often known for selling daily use items in bulk quantities, giving its customers huge discounts as they buy merchandise in larger quantities. Now, the giant retailer is also selling gold bars that have become popular items as markets are becoming more volatile and some investors prefer gold. Costco is selling 1 ounce gold bars to its customers.
Costco sells two types of gold bars to its customers. They include One ounce gold PAMP Suisse Lady Fortuna Veriscan gold bar and One ounce Rand Refinery gold bar from South Africa.
The Suisse bar is imprinted with a silhouette of the goddess of fortune and has a cornucopia. It is registered and includes a digital certificate. Customers can gain access with a QR code. Its cost was approximately $1,980 when it was available, about a day ago.
ParisJewelry.com
The South African gold bar has its own serial number. It has an elephant design, and was available for approximately $1,950, one day ago.
Customers have appreciated the offer from the discount retailer. Some of them said that the rate at Costco was cheaper than other outlets. Costco credit card holders and those who have executive memberships can get 4 percent cash back on purchasing gold bars from Costco. However, there is a two-bar limit per customer.
The U.S. warehouse retailing giant added new merchandise that appeals to a niche of its customers by marketing a 150-serving emergency food preparedness kit. This kit can seemingly come in handy in certain situations. It is marketing gold bars in a similar manner but its success with gold might be more than anticipated as it runs out of supplies within hours of uploading new stock.
Organic Greek Vitamin Bottles and Multivitamin Gummies
Precious metals have long been considered as a safe and traditional investment. As fiat currencies lose value and markets are known for volatility, gold, silver and platinum have become the choice of some investors. Gold has seen an over 55 percent rise in price in the past five years and an over 15 percent rise in the past year.
Celebrity WEB Update— Premier Jewelry designer and manufacturer fashion house ParisJewelry.com has started manufacturing a new custom line of celebrity jewelry designs with 30% Off and Free Shipping. Replenish Your Body- Refilter Your Health with OrganicGreek.com Vitamin Bottles, Vitamins and Herbs. Become a WebFans Creator and Influencer.
Sporting Kansas City’s Johnny Russell scored an early goal and then watched the final 61 minutes after receiving a red card as his teammates defeated the Houston Dynamo 2-1 in Kansas City, Kan., to close within one point of the red line in the Western Conference.
Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia made a game-saving stop on a one-on-one approach by Corey Baird in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time. Melia earned his 100th win for the franchise in all competitions.
Sporting KC (10-13-8, 38 points) sit one point behind FC Dallas for the ninth spot in the Western Conference. SKC extended their unbeaten streak to six matches against Houston.
The Dynamo (12-11-7, 43 points) came in with an MLS-best seven-match unbeaten streak, outscoring the opposition 15-2 in those matches.
Houston, which will play for the title in the U.S. Open Cup against FC Miami on Wednesday, used all five of its substitutions midway through the second half.
Russell opened the scoring in the seventh minute on a penalty kick. The penalty was called when Sebastian Kowalczyk was called for a hand ball in the penalty area on a shot by Erik Thommy.
The match turned in the 39th minute, when Russell was shown a straight red card for a hard foul on the right touch line. Russell made contact with the ball, and it was not even ruled a foul by the on-field referee. However, VAR reversed the call, ending Russell’s night prematurely.
Willy Agada put Sporting up 2-0 in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time. Khiry Shelton held the ball just outside the box. He fed Thommy, whose shot caromed off two Houston defenders before landing at Agada’s feet. Houston keeper Steve Clark had no chance at stopping it.
But Houston pulled one back off a free kick in the ninth minute of stoppage time. Ethan Bartlow lofted it into the box, and Teenage Hadebe left-footed a shot from close range.
Njabulo Blom scored the go-ahead goal in the 73rd minute as expansion St. Louis City took another big step toward a Western Conference regular-season championship with a 2-1 victory over Minnesota United on Saturday night in soggy Saint Paul, Minn.
Joao Klauss also scored and Roman Burki made four saves for St. Louis City (16-10-5, 53 points), who extended their Western Conference lead to eight points.
Teemu Pukki scored on a penalty kick for Minnesota United (9-11-10, 37 points), who lost their third straight match and fell to 3-4-8 at home this season. Dayne St. Clair finished with four saves for the Loons.
Blom then gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead with his first goal of the season, a right-footed blast from above the middle of the box that went sailing into the top right corner of the net.
Minnesota United, playing without star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso (thigh), took a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute on Pukki’s fourth goal in the past five matches.
The score was set up when Burki picked up a yellow card for grabbing Hassani Dotson around the waist and bringing him down on the edge of the 6-yard box during a goalmouth scramble. Pukki then drilled a right-footed penalty shot into the left corner of the net for his fifth goal of the season.
Klauss, who entered the match as a substitute in the 58th minute, tied it six minutes later when he headed in a cross from Jake Newinski into the left side of the net for his eighth goal of the season and third in the past four matches.
Both goalies came up with saves on point-blank attempts during a scoreless first half, which was played in a driving rain. Burki stopped Sang Bin Jeong’s right-footed try from the left side of the box in the fourth minute, and St. Clair saved Celio Pompeu’s right-footed try in the middle of the box in the 24th minute.
Jader Obrian’s headed goal just before halftime allowed FC Dallas to draw 1-1 with the Columbus Crew on Saturday night in Frisco, Texas.
The Crew had a 1-0 lead due to Nkosi Tafari’s own goal, but Dallas (10-10-9, 39 points) managed to scrape out one point and stay in ninth place in the Western Conference standings. Only the top nine will make the playoffs.
Jesus Ferreira earned a free kick in the final minute of second-half stoppage time when his attempt at a pass hit the hand of Crew defender Malte Amundsen. However, the ensuing kick hit the Columbus wall.
The Crew (14-9-7, 49 points) continue to jockey for a top-four playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, which would ensure home-field advantage for the first round.
The Crew are now 0-10-16 in their last 26 road matches against Western Conference teams, a drought dating to July 2017.
Columbus had 53 percent of the possession and a 13-8 advantage in shot attempts.
FC Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes made four saves. The Crew’s Patrick Schulte stopped one shot.
The own goal came in the 24th minute. The Crew were attacking down the right side on a give-and-go between Diego Rossi and Alexandru Matan. Rossi sent a low cross into the box, and Tafari’s attempt to clear the ball instead poked the ball into his own net.
Obrian — who had a point-blank shot saved and another attempt blocked early in the match — broke through in the 43rd minute. Ferreira sent a perfectly weighted cross up ahead, and Obrian headed it past Schulte.
It was Obrian’s second goal in three matches.
Cucho Hernandez and Aidan Morris had open shots before halftime for Columbus, but Paes saved them both.
Ferreira and Hernandez had close misses for their respective teams two minutes apart. Ferreira’s lofted shot on a two-on-one flew to the right in the 64th minute. Then on the other end, Hernandez received a pass through tight coverage, and his shot ricocheted off the left post.
Unable to replicate an offensive-minded MLS Cup final from a season ago, visiting Los Angeles FC and the Philadelphia Union played to a 0-0 draw on Saturday amid windy conditions in Chester, Pa.
With the tie, LAFC remain unbeaten in eight all-time MLS games against the Union, going 5-0-3. All three draws have come in games played on the Union’s home turf. LAFC are the only MLS club the Union have never defeated.
The teams played to a 3-3 tie into extra time of last season’s MLS Cup final at Los Angeles, with LAFC winning the title in penalty kicks.
Steady winds, with gusts up to 35 mph, plagued Saturday’s match as effects from Tropical Storm Ophelia made their mark on the Northeast. Rain became heavy at times in the second half.
There were no saves required from either Union goalkeeper Andre Blake or LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, who was playing in just his third game after a fractured leg in the second half of MLS Cup in November.
LAFC (12-9-9, 45 points) started the day in third place in the Western Conference, looking to wrap up a top-four seed and home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The club is now 3-5-6 on the road, with consecutive 0-0 draws, including one at St. Louis on Wednesday.
The Union (14-8-7, 49 points) have already clinched a spot in the playoffs, but were clinging to fourth place heading into weekend play. Philadelphia is now 9-1-4 at home.
LAFC opened with scorers Denis Bouanga and Carlos Vela on the bench and looked lost on offense in the first half. Bouanga entered just after halftime, while Vela came on in the 71st minute to no avail.
The Union were playing without defender Jakob Glesnes (core) for the first time since October of 2020, ending his consecutive-game streak at 101. Philadelphia also was without midfielder Jose Martinez (knee), while forward Julian Carranza left after halftime with concussion symptoms.
The Union appeared to take a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute when Tai Baribo hit the crossbar and Daniel Gazdag found the back of the goal on the rebound with a header. But Gazdag was ruled offside on replay.
South Korea’s Hae Ran Ryu made five birdies in a six-hole stretch to rush out to the first-round lead at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship on Friday in Rogers, Ark.
Ryu shot a 7-under 64 at Pinnacle Country Club, with a group of nine players one stroke back at 65.
Ryu, 22, is a rookie on the LPGA Tour and has five top-10 finishes this season while searching for her first career victory.
“Before this tournament I go back to Korea and I’m practice a lot of shots with my coach,” Ryu said. “I got more confidence in my shot, and on the first round I made some more birdie chance.”
She stayed bogey-free on Friday to kick off the 54-hole event. After shooting 2-under on the front nine, Ryu’s big break started with a birdie at the par-4 12th hole. She proceeded to string together four more at Nos. 14-17, two of which were par-3 holes.
“Before this tournament my putt is so bad,” Ryu said, laughing. “But, yeah, I change my putt … I make (so) many more birdie for this first round.”
Lexi Thompson headlined the nine-way tie for second. The LPGA veteran was 7 under through 16 holes but carded her lone bogey at her penultimate hole, the par-4 eighth.
Thompson is seeking her first win on tour since June 2019.
“We had perfect weather out there, so I just tried to take last week into today and just fully commit to every shot that I had out there,” Thompson said.
Thompson was playing just days after returning home from Spain, where Europe retained the Solheim Cup after tying 14-14 with Thompson’s U.S. team.
“It’s the highest honor, and to be able to pull off some good shots and make some putts for my country,” Thompson said. “There is absolutely no better feeling.”
Also tied for second were Christina Kim, Japan’s Yuka Saso, Kelly Tan of Malaysia, Lydia Ko of New Zealand, Australian Hannah Green, Germany’s Olivia Cowan, Jenny Shin of South Korea and Nicole Broch Estrup of Denmark.
Ko, a former World No. 1, racked up seven birdies against one bogey, including three birdies in her final four holes. She won this event in 2016.
“I see the picture of me in the clubhouse and it feels like a really long time ago,” Ko said. “It was 2016, so like seven years ago. A lot of things have happened since then. It’s always good to be back at a place where I have a lot of good memories.”
Morgane Metraux of Switzerland and Bronte Law of England were part of a six-way tie at 5-under 66.
Defending champion Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand opened with a 3-under 68.
Bo Nix passed for three touchdowns and rushed for one as No. 10 Oregon relentlessly pounded No. 19 Colorado 42-6 in the Pac-12 opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Eugene, Ore.
Nix completed 28 of 33 passes for 276 yards and one interception as Oregon (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) handed Deion Sanders his first setback as Colorado coach. The Ducks have won 10 of the past 11 meetings with the Buffaloes.
Troy Franklin caught eight passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns for the Ducks. Casey Kelly caught a touchdown pass and Noah Whittington and Jordan James rushed for scores for Oregon, which had 522 total yards and 30 first downs.
Shedeur Sanders produced a season-low 159 yards and one touchdown on 23-of-33 passing for Colorado (3-1, 0-1). Sanders threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Michael Harrison with 2:51 remaining as the Buffaloes averted being blanked.
Colorado was without two-way star Travis Hunter (lacerated liver), who was injured in last week’s victory over Colorado State.
The Buffaloes, who entered averaging 41.3 points per game, had just 199 yards and 13 first downs.
Jordan Burch had two of Oregon’s seven sacks.
The Ducks dominated the first half with edges of 378-21 in total offense, 22-4 in first downs while possessing the ball for 20:48.
Oregon began the game with a 10-play, 72-yard drive that was capped by Whittington’s 3-yard scoring run.
The Ducks took a 13-0 lead on Nix’s 1-yard to Kelly with 2:41 left in the period. A trick play on the two-point conversion failed.
Oregon later embarked on a 13-play, 89-yard excursion to increase its lead to 21-0. Nix tossed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Franklin with 9:39 left in the half, and the same two teamed up for a two-point conversion pass.
Nix and Franklin were at it again, connecting on a 36-yard scoring pass to make it 28-0 with 2:52 remaining in the second quarter. Nix scored on an 11-yard scamper with 12 seconds left in the half.
James scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1 six minutes into the third quarter to make it 42-0.
The Buffaloes drove 93 yards on 14 plays on their fourth-quarter scoring possession.
