Diamondbacks 3B Jose Fernandez becomes 7th MLB player since 1900 with 2 homers in debut

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Jose Fernandez strode to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning during his first big league game in a pressure-packed spot against four-time All-Star closer Kenley Jansen.

Tigers Diamondbacks Baseball

The three-run homer that followed capped one of the most powerful MLB regular-season debuts in modern history.

The Venezuelan became just the seventh player since 1900 to hit two homers in his debut, and the second was a go-ahead shot thatled the Diamondbacks over the Detroit Tigers 7-5on Tuesday night.

“I returned to my days as a kid — just a dream come true,” a smiling Fernandez said through an interpreter.

In a strange twist, two of the seven two-homer debuts have occurred over the past six days. Cleveland phenom Chase DeLauterwent deep twice in his first career regular-season gamelast Thursday after making his MLB debut in the playoffs last season.

The 22-year-old Fernandez wasn't on the D-backs' opening-day roster, joining the team on Monday after Pavin Smith went on the 10-day injured list with left elbow soreness. He made the most of his first opportunity, finishing with three hits and four RBIs.

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Not bad for a guy ranked as the No. 27 prospect in the organization, according to MLB.com

“He deserves all this credit,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’re so proud of him. He’s a player who came through our system, through our academy, and it’s a great story, a great baseball story. We’ve known about Jose for a long time. We knew he was coming.”

Fernandez hit an infield single in his first big league at-bat and added a solo homer his next time up. The three-run drive that followed put him in elite company, joining DeLauter, Trevor Story (2016), J.P. Arencibia (2010), Mark Quinn (1999), Bert Campaneris (1964) and Bob Nieman (1951) as players with two-homer debuts.

“Stay calm, keep the emotions in check, I knew something like that could happen,” Fernandez said. “Just look for a pitch.”

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/mlb

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 02, 2026

Diamondbacks 3B Jose Fernandez becomes 7th MLB player since 1900 with 2 homers in debut

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Jose Fernandez strode to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning during his firs...

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Chinese chipmakers claim nearly half of of local market as Nvidia's lead shrinks, IDC says

By Che Pan and Laurie Chen

BEIJING, April 1 (Rtrs) - Chinese GPU and AI chip makers captured nearly 41% of China's AI accelerator server ‌market last year, erodingNvidia's once-dominant position in one of its ‌most important overseas markets, according to data from an IDC report reviewed by Reuters.

The gains ​come as Beijing grows increasingly cautious about dependence on foreign chips, pushing government agencies and companies to adopt domestic alternatives after successive waves of U.S. export controls cut China off from Nvidia’s most advanced products.

Total shipments of AI accelerator cards ‌by Nvidia, AMD, and ⁠Chinese chipmakers reached approximately 4 million units in China in 2025, the data showed.

Nvidia remained the market leader, shipping around ⁠2.2 million cards and holding a 55% share. But that figure marks a significant retreat for the U.S. chipmaker, which held a dominant market share in China's ​AI chip ​market. AMD carved out a modest ​presence, shipping roughly 160,000 cards for ‌a 4% share, the IDC data showed.

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Chinese vendors collectively shipped 1.65 million cards, accounting for 41% of the total market — a milestone that underscores how aggressively domestic players have moved to fill the void left by tightening U.S. export controls.

Huawei Technologies emerged as the runaway leader among Chinese vendors, shipping ‌around 812,000 AI chips, roughly half of all ​domestically branded shipments. Alibaba's chip design unit ​T-Head claimed second place, shipping ​approximately 265,000 cards.

Baidu's Kunlunxin and Cambricon each shipped around 116,000 ‌cards, ranking them jointly third among ​Chinese vendors.

Hygon, GPU startups ​MetaX and Iluvatar CoreX accounted for 5%, 4% and 3% of total Chinese vendor shipments, respectively.

In 2025, the central government launched a new ​wave of AI infrastructure ‌spending, with local governments accelerating intelligent computing centers across provinces, many ​of which carried implicit directives to "buy Chinese."

(Reporting by Che Pan and ​Laurie Chen, Editing by Louise Heavens)

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 02, 2026

Chinese chipmakers claim nearly half of of local market as Nvidia's lead shrinks, IDC says

By Che Pan and Laurie Chen BEIJING, April 1 (Rtrs) - Chinese GPU and AI chip makers captured nearly 41% of China's AI acceler...

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Activist vessel collides with krill trawler in Antarctic confrontation

MIAMI (AP) — A ship operated by a group founded by anti-whaling activist Paul Watson collided with an industrial krill trawler in Antarctica in what the ship's Norwegian owner said was a “deliberate attack” that endangered its crew and could've caused a disaster in the same environmentally sensitive waters the activists claim they want to protect.

CORRECTION Antarctica Krill Ship Collision

A two-minute video provided to The Associated Press by the Aker QRILL Co. shows the moment Tuesday when the M/V Bandero, operated by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, slowly steams toward the stern of the fishing vessel, hitting its port side at a slight angle.

The collision underscores thegrowing battlein the frigid waters of the Southern Ocean over the future of Antarctic krill, a shrimplike crustacean central to the diet of whales and critical buffer to global warming that's also in demand for use in health supplements, fishmeal and other products.

Aker said Wednesday that the Bandero came within centimeters of striking a diesel tank on its vessel, the Norwegian-flagged Antarctic Sea, and put at risk a habitat teeming with multiple whale species, seals and seabirds — all feeding on the Southern Ocean'sabundant but environmentally sensitive krill population.

The company said its multinational crew was shaken but unharmed and it would pursue all available legal action.

“Our crew were put at risk in some of the most remote waters on Earth, and only luck avoided potential environmental damage," Aker CEO Webjørn Barstad said in a statement.

The Captain Paul Watson Foundation did not respond to a request from the AP about Aker's accusations. But in its own news release, it characterized its actions as “aggressive nonviolence.” It said the crew, led by French activist Lamya Essemlali, managed to disrupt all krill fishing during a five-hour “direct intervention” against two Aker-owned vessels. It also provided images showing the crew launching giant metal net shredding devices intended to disrupt fishing.

Watson himself was not on the ship, which departed Australia in February as part of what the Watson foundation called Operation Krill Wars.

“Throughout the encounter, the crew witnessed Antarctic wildlife in the surrounding waters, including penguins, seals, and even a whale, underscoring what was at stake as a small ship challenged a powerful industrial krill operation in a stark David-and-Goliath scenario,” the foundation said in a statement.

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Watson founded the global Sea Shepherd conservation movement in the 1970s and for decades won a fearsome reputation for ramming vessels and other aggressive tactics in confrontations on the high seas that repeatedly landed him in jail. He was lastdetained in Greenland for five monthsin 2024 on a Japanese warrant that was later rejected by Denmark. Japan’s coast guard sought his arrest over an encounter in 2010 in which he was accused of ordering a captain of his ship to throw explosives at what the Japanese labeled a whaling research ship.

While the Canadian-American citizen in the past has drawn support from Hollywood celebrities, his hard-line tactics have split the movement he started, with affiliates in France and Brazil rallying behind his newly created namesake foundation while Sea Shepherd Global and 20 national affiliates focus more on watchdog patrols on the high seas, policy action and supporting law enforcement in poorer countries where illegal fishing is rampant.

Fishing in Antarctica for krillsurged to a record last season, forcing an early closure of fishing activity for the first time.

Aker is the world's largest harvester of krill, responsible for over half the world's catch.

The remote fishery is managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, an international organization composed of 27 nations and the European Union.

Any investigation into the incident, including possible criminal prosecution, is likely to commence at the Mongolia-flagged Bandero's next port of call. Under international maritime law, an overtaking vessel has an obligation to stay clear of any nearby ship it’s passing.

Bandero is named after the tequila company owned by John Paul DeJoria, an American billionaire who founded Paul Mitchell hair care products and has been a longtime supporter of Watson’s endeavors.

This story has corrected the month that the Bandero left Australia to February, not March.

___ This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. ___ Contact AP’s global investigative team atInvestigative@ap.orgorhttps://www.ap.org/tips/

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 02, 2026

Activist vessel collides with krill trawler in Antarctic confrontation

MIAMI (AP) — A ship operated by a group founded by anti-whaling activist Paul Watson collided with an industrial krill trawler in Antar...

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TSA absences fall sharply after US airport security workers get paid

March 31 (Reuters) - The Transportation Security Administration said ‌absences among the ‌nation's 50,000 security officers fell ​sharply on Monday as workers got paid after working six weeks without ‌a paycheck.

The ⁠Homeland Security Department said the absence ⁠rate fell to 8.6% after being as ​high as ​12.4% ​on Friday. The ‌highest absences reported Monday were at Atlanta Monday with 29% of workers out along with ‌around 20% at ​Houston's two ​aiports, ​Baltimore, New Orleans, ‌New York JFK and ​Philadephia.

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Major ​airports that had suffered multi-hour lines said ​Monday ‌that operations had largely ​returned to normal.

(Reporting by ​David Shepardson)

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 01, 2026

TSA absences fall sharply after US airport security workers get paid

March 31 (Reuters) - The Transportation Security Administration said ‌absences among the ‌nation's 50,000 security officers fell ​s...

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Baidu robotaxi outage in Wuhan caused by 'system failure', police say

BEIJING, April 1 (Reuters) - A "system failure" caused a robotaxi outage involving multiple vehicles operated by Baidu's Apollo Go in central ‌China's Wuhan, local police said on Wednesday, re-igniting safety concerns over ‌the fast-growing service.

Police received reports late on Tuesday that numerous Apollo Go cars had ​stopped in the middle of roads in Wuhan and were unable to move, according to an official statement.

Passengers were able to exit the vehicles safely and there were no injuries, police said.

The cause of the incident is ‌still under investigation.

At least ⁠100 Apollo Go vehicles were affected, a traffic police officer said in a video published by Shanghai-based news ⁠outlet The Paper. The officer added that while the car doors could be opened, some passengers were hesitant to get out because of heavy traffic ​and called ​police for assistance.

Local media reported that ​some passengers were trapped inside ‌the vehicles for nearly two hours.

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Baidu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The accident sparked renewed discussions on Chinese social media about robotaxi safety and readiness.

An Apollo Go robotaxi carrying a passenger fell into a construction pit in Chongqing in August, and in May one ‌of the cars operated by Pony.ai caught ​fire on a road in Beijing. No ​injuries were reported in ​either incident.

A widespread power outage in San Francisco at ‌the end of last year also ​caused Waymo robotaxis to ​stall and snarl traffic.

Baidu is one of China's largest operators of autonomous driving fleets, alongside Pony.ai and WeRide. The companies have ​rolled out commercial robotaxi ‌services across major Chinese cities and have expanded operations into ​overseas markets, including the Middle East.

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li and ​Ryan Woo; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 01, 2026

Baidu robotaxi outage in Wuhan caused by 'system failure', police say

BEIJING, April 1 (Reuters) - A "system failure" caused a robotaxi outage involving multiple vehicles operated by Baidu's ...

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Severe Thunderstorms, Including Tornadoes, Are Likely In The Plains, Midwest, East Through Saturday

Severe thunderstorms are once again forecast in parts of the Plains, Midwest and East through Saturday, capping off an active March and kicking off the typically dangerous month of April.

Happening Now

The map below shows where rain and thunderstorms are right now, along with any active watches or warnings.

Scattered severe thunderstorms are possible from the Southern Great Lakes into the Central and Southern Plains with hail and strong wind gusts through the overnight hours.

Forecast

This could be a more active day of severe weather during this week's stretch.

-Main area of concern: Parts of the central, southern Plains from north Texas to western Missouri

- Main threats: Tornadoes (some strong), large hail possibly larger than golf balls, destructive wind gusts possibly up to 75 mph

- When: Late afternoon through the night

Semi-discrete thunderstorms are expected to blossom by late afternoon before growing into a line of thunderstorms through the evening and overnight hours. Early thunderstorms could have significant hailstones before the threat turns to tornadoes and damaging wind gusts. Storms will reach the Interstate-35 corridor during the late evening and overnight hours.

More isolated severe storms are possible in parts of the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic, with hail or strong wind gusts.

-Main area of concern: Parts of the Midwest from Illinois to Michigan and northwest Ohio

- Main threats: Damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes

- When: Afternoon and evening

-Main area of concern: The southern and central Plains, possibly as far north as the Great Lakes and as far east as the mid-Mississippi Valley

- Main threats: Damaging wind gusts, tornadoes, large hail

- When: Afternoon through the night

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The map below shows the area where this is most possible several days away.

But, Friday could be a more widespread threat of numerous severe thunderstorms, both as discretesupercellsand also aslines of storms.

A threat of at least a few severe thunderstorms could extend into theEaster holiday weekendahead of the cold front from the Midwest, Northeast and Tennessee Valley Saturday to parts of the East Coast on Easter Sunday.

(MAPS:7-Day US Rain/Snow Forecast)

Flash Flood Threat, Too

While swaths of the Plains and Midwest are currently indrought, these repeated rounds of thunderstorms could also trigger areas of flash flooding, particularly in areas that have been soaked repeatedly this month.

That includes parts of the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Plains.

Be Prepared

There are steps you can take to stay safe in severe weather:

1. Know where to seek safe shelter when severe weather strikesbeforethe storm. If you live in a manufactured home, the safest place is probably either a designated community shelter or the closest building such as a church, industrial building or any building with reinforced concrete.

2. Have multiple ways of receiving official National Weather Service watches and warnings, including from yourphoneandNOAA weather radio. Make sure your devices are full charged in case you lose power and alerts are turned on to wake you up at night.

3. Seek safe shelterimmediatelywhen you receive a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning for your area.

4.Never drive into flood waters. You could be carried away and the road underneath could have been washed away.

(MORE:14 Severe Weather Tips That Can Save Your Life)

Storm Fatigue

It has been yet another active March for severe weather in the U.S., including parts of the Midwest.

On March 6, four tornadoes struck southern Michigan, including an EF3 in Branch County killing three, an EF2 in Three Rivers and an EF1 tornado that claimed a life in Cass County.

Four days later, a lone supercell spawned 12 tornadoes across northeast Illinois into northwest Indiana, including the EF3 Kankakee, Illinois, tornado, which killed three.

Then on March 15, another 17 tornadoes were confirmed across central and southern Illinois.

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center has received 196 reports of and confirmed tornadoes in March, almost double the 20-year average of March twisters (104).

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him onBluesky,X (formerly Twitter)andFacebook.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 01, 2026

Severe Thunderstorms, Including Tornadoes, Are Likely In The Plains, Midwest, East Through Saturday

Severe thunderstorms are once again forecast in parts of the Plains, Midwest and East through Saturday, capping off an active March and...

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UCLA women enjoy 'home-court advantage' during Final Four run

SACRAMENTO, CA ―UCLAhas felt right at home during its second consecutiveWomen's NCAA Tournamentrun to a Final Four.

The Bruins lucked out, being the only team in the Final Four that hasn't had to change time zones throughout March Madness.

UCLA has played every round in the Pacific time zone, beginning with the first and second rounds on their home court at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight were played in Sacramento, California, which is a little more than an hour flight or a five- to six-hour drive. Again, Bruins fans, students and alumni traveled to pack the Golden 1 Center. They "showed up and showed out."

The Alabama bench celebrate after a big three-point shot by Alabama Crimson Tide guard Karly Weathers (22) in the fourth quarter against Louisville during the 2026 NCAA Women's March Madness Second Round basketball at the KFC Yum Center In Louisville, Ky. Weathers finished with 13 points. March 23, 2026.

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See women's March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

The Alabama bench celebrate after a big three-point shot by Alabama Crimson Tide guard Karly Weathers (22) in the fourth quarter against Louisville during the2026 NCAA Women's March MadnessSecond Round basketball at the KFC Yum Center In Louisville, Ky. Weathers finished with 13 points. March 23, 2026.

In their Elite Eight game against Duke, there were 9,627 people in attendance, nearly half the max capacity of Golden 1 Center. Still, it sounded as if it were jam-packed for a Sacramento Kings game the way fans cheered for their SoCal squad.

It served the Bruins well on the court. They were down in the contest against Duke but fed off the energy of the friendly fans to stage a comeback and ultimately take a lead in the second half which they never relinquished.

"Just tremendous," UCLA forward Angela Dugalic told USA TODAY Sports about the crowd presence. "I'm so happy that we got an opportunity to play. It just felt like a home-court advantage. Honestly. In fact, we were able to play in California. I know it's a little bit away from LA, but it just still felt like a homecoming advantage."

Dugalic scored 15 points against Duke. She was able to channel to energy of UCLA fans and apply it to the court. She had a determined look all game and was dialed in, shooting 7-of-13, 53% from the field.

"Thank you for everyone who came in and showed up and showed out for us. And I know some people obviously couldn't make it. It's a long Friday flight for some people," Dugalic said. "... but it just really is such a blessing the fact that we were able to play in front of our fans and our crowd."

But UCLA isn't new to playing in Sacramento or Golden 1 Center. They had a trial run during a non-conference Nov. 10 game against Oklahoma, holding it in California's capital city.

For what it's worth, the Bruins won 73-59. And yes, UCLA fans were rambunctiously loud in rooting for their team.

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UCLA head coach Cori Close believes being so close helped the team with preparation and being familiar with their surroundings.

"It was palpable, right? When we walked out, the energy in the building, and we're really thankful to Sacramento for being great hosts," Close told USA TODAY following their win against Duke. "But also what they did with us, we had a game fall through with Oklahoma that was supposed to be played in New York, and we decided we were going to bring it here, and that they got behind that game in November.

"There was a familiarity. We stayed at the same hotel. We had the same rhythms, you know, and ... we were really planning intentionally for what it was going to be like here."

This isn't your ordinary college basketball team. They get support from all over, because their players are from all over. Dugalic, for example, is Serbian but grew up in northwest Chicago. Her brother, Milos Dugalic, texted her she said, as he tuned in with his pro team in Bristol, England. Her teammate Lena Bilić is Croatian.

"I can proudly say that we're international or worldwide," Dugalic said.

And that worldwide support should give them a leg up during the Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 3.

Los Angeles is literally a hop, skip and a jump away from Phoenix. Pick your mode of transportation. It takes about 90 minutes to fly and driving can be around six hours, maybe less if you do it right.

UCLA anticipates using their proximity will be an advantage and looks forward to their crowd arriving in bunches during the Final Four, and potentially, a national championship.

"It was really fun to just have the energy and the people behind us," Close said following their Elite Eight win against Duke on March 29. "I got to share a moment with Denise Curry and Debbie Halliday, and who are part of the '78 and '79 teams that also went to back to back Final Four's when it was AIAW, and want to give them their flowers.

"It's really only meaningful if you get to share it with genuine people. And I thought that having it here in Sacramento brought a different meaning, because we were able to share it with people that we really care about, and we know that people that helped us get here."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:UCLA enjoys home-court advantage during Women's NCAA Tournament

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 01, 2026

UCLA women enjoy 'home-court advantage' during Final Four run

SACRAMENTO, CA ―UCLAhas felt right at home during its second consecutiveWomen's NCAA Tournamentrun to a Final Four. The Bruins...

Read More