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Fresh off his announcement that he will run again for president in the 2024 election, Donald Trump has admitted that he dined at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida with disgraced rapper Kanye West and a white nationalist Tuesday.

This past week, Kanye West called me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday. Shortly thereafter, he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about. We had dinner on Tuesday evening with many members present on the back patio. The dinner was quick and uneventful. They then left for the airport.

The admission only came after reports in Axios and Politico that the musician, who legally changed his name to Ye, had brought with him Nick Fuentes, a far-right bigot who attended the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and who wants Republicans to move further to the right and maintain the US as a country predominantly for white Christians.

Trump insisted in another Truth Social post that he did not know who Fuentes was, but defended his decision to dine with Ye, whose business empire has collapsed in a matter of weeks due, in part, to his comments against Jewish people and embrace of White Lives Matter imagery.

We got along great, he expressed no anti-Semitism, & I appreciated all of the nice things he said about me on Tucker Carlson, Trump wrote. Why wouldnt I agree to meet?

News of Trumps decision to dine with the pair alarmed even his advisers, some of whom spoke anonymously with media outlets to criticize him. “This is a fucking nightmare,” one Trump adviser told NBC News. “If people are looking at [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis to run against Trump, here’s another reason why.”

Even a social visit from an antisemite like Kanye West and human scum like Nick Fuentes is unacceptable, tweeted David Friedman, who served as US ambassador to Israel under Trump. I urge you to throw those bums out, disavow them and relegate them to the dustbin of history where they belong.

In a video on Twitter, Ye described details of the dinner and said Trump was really impressed with Nick Fuentes.

Nick Fuentes, unlike so many of the lawyers and so many people that he was left with on his 2020 campaign, hes actually a loyalist, said Ye.

Ye, who is mounting a ludicrous run for president himself, said Trump became angry at the dinner only when the rapper asked him to be his running mate.

When Trump started basically screaming at me at the table, telling me I was going to lose. I mean, has that ever worked for anyone in history? Ye said. Im like, Whoa, whoa, hold on, hold on, Trump, youre talking to Ye.

In addition to Ye’s bigotry, the rapper is being investigated by Adidas over claims that he showed workers explicit pictures and videos, including an intimate photo of his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.

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MLB: Iassogna crew chief, plate umpire for ASG

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MLB: Iassogna crew chief, plate umpire for ASG

NEW YORK — Dan Iassogna will be the umpire crew chief and work the plate during Tuesday night’s All-Star Game at Atlanta’s Truist Park.

His crew will include Marvin Hudson at first, Chris Segal at second, Jansen Visconti at third, Jeremie Rehak in left and Erich Bacchus in right, Major League Baseball said Thursday.

Iassogna, 56, will work his second All-Star Game. He was at third base for the 2011 game at Arizona.

He worked his first big league game in 1999, was hired to the major league staff in 2004 and appointed a crew chief ahead of the 2020 season. Iassogna umpired the World Series in 2012, ’17 and ’22 along with eight League Championship Series and seven Division Series.

Segal, Visconti, Rehak and Bacchus will work their first All-Star Games and Hudson his second after being in left field in 2004 at Houston.

Tony Randazzo will be the replay umpire in New York.

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A’s Rooker joins list of HR Derby participants

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A's Rooker joins list of HR Derby participants

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Athletics slugger Brent Rooker is adding his name to the list of Home Run Derby participants.

Rooker announced Thursday that he’s participating in the event, which takes place Monday in Atlanta. He will become the first Athletics player in the Home Run Derby since Matt Olson in 2021.

“Competing in the Home Run Derby has always been a dream of mine,” Rooker said in an Instagram post. “Can’t wait to make it happen next week in Atlanta! See ya there!”

Rooker, 30, entered Thursday with a .270 batting average, 19 homers and 50 RBIs, putting him on pace for a third straight season of at least 30 homers. He went deep 30 times in 2023 and had 39 homers in 2024.

His 58 homers since the start of the 2024 season rank him third among all American League players.

The only A’s to win the Derby were Mark McGwire in 1992 and Yoenis Céspedes in 2013 and 2014.

Other announced participants include Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr., Minnesota’s Byron Buxton, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh and Washington’s James Wood.

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O’s trade reliever Baker to Rays for draft pick

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O's trade reliever Baker to Rays for draft pick

BALTIMORE — The Orioles traded right-handed reliever Bryan Baker to AL East rival Tampa Bay on Thursday in exchange for the 37th overall pick in the 2025 MLB amateur draft, a sign that one of baseball’s most disappointing clubs could be sellers at the upcoming trade deadline.

Orioles general manager Mike Elias wouldn’t completely commit to that idea. Speaking to reporters before Thursday’s split doubleheader against the New York Mets, he cited the 2024 Detroit Tigers, who traded players off their major league roster but held on to ace Tarik Skubal and then surged into a playoff spot.

Elias did, however, acknowledge the possibility of selling on a day that began with last-place Baltimore (40-50) sitting 12½ games behind the division-leading Toronto Blue Jays and seven out of the final AL wild-card spot.

“I think it’s a step in that direction,” said Elias three weeks before the July 31 deadline. “There’s no way around that. The timing of the draft, and when you have draft picks involved in the trades, kind of front-loads these decisions, and it’s earlier than my comfort level. But we thought it was a really good return and a good trade for everyone. So, we did it.”

The draft begins Sunday. In a corresponding move, the Orioles selected the contract of catcher David Bañuelos from Triple-A Norfolk.

After a dreadful start that brought the May dismissal of manager Brandon Hyde, the Orioles have steadied under interim skipper Tony Mansolino, playing to a 21-14 record since a loss to St. Louis on May 28.

Baker was a solid part of that, posting a 3.52 ERA, striking out 49 batters and posting a 1.096 WHIP in 38⅓ innings as the setup man for closer Felix Bautista.

“This is a team that is moving in the right direction, and we still have a lot of time left before the deadline, but this was a trade with the draft coming up in a couple days that we had to make a decision on,” Elias said. “We didn’t want to pass up on the opportunity. Hopefully, we can use the pick wisely, bring a lot of value back, and Bryan’s going to a good place.”

Mansolino is also hoping his team will get replenishments in the form of players eventually returning from the injured list. That sizable group includes several possible starting pitchers: Grayson Rodriguez (shoulder), Albert Suarez (shoulder), Tyler Wells (elbow) and Kyle Bradish (Tommy John surgery).

Meanwhile, Baltimore will now have four of the first 37 and seven of the first 93 draft picks.

“All the drafts are important, but when you have this amount of picks, it becomes more important, there’s no question about it,” Elias said. “There’s just a much bigger opportunity ahead of us, and the draft is a lifeblood for our franchise.”

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