COLU @ CONCEPTS

BOSTON (AP) — With the game on the line, Christian Vazquez launched a long drive that even Austin Jackson couldn’t reach. Vazquez hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Boston Red Sox pulled off the final rally of a  wild game  Tu What a game. What an ending.  #walkoff   pic.twitter.com/rWV4VbkVJl — MLB (@MLB)  August 2, 2017 esday night, beating the Indians 12-10 despite an  astonishing catch  by Jackson. “Some odd things took place offensively,” Boston manager John Farrell said, marveling at the outcome and the many twists and turns that preceded it as the Red Sox moved back into first place in the AL East. The teams combined for 28 hits and six home runs, but Jackson made a defensive play that stood above all the offense when he robbed Hanley Ramirez of a leadoff homer in the fifth with a leaping grab in the right-center triangle at Fenway Park. The center fielder reached way above the wa...

Older people are dying on the job at a higher rate than workers overall, even as the rate of workplace fatalities decreases, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal statistics. It’s a trend that’s particularly alarming as baby boomers reject the traditional retirement age of 65 and keep working. The U.S. government estimates that by 2024, older workers will account for 25 percent of the labor market. Getting old — and the physical changes associated with it — “could potentially make a workplace injury into a much more serious injury or a potentially fatal injury,” said Ken Scott, an epidemiologist with the Denver Public Health Department. Gerontologists say those changes include gradually worsening vision and hearing impairment, reduced response time, balance issues and chronic medical or muscle or bone problems such as arthritis. In 2015, about 35 percent of the fatal workplace accidents involved a worker 55 and older — or 1,681 of the 4,836 fatalities report...

SARANDA, Albania (AP) — Descending beneath the waves, the cloudy first few meters quickly give way to clear waters and an astonishing sight — dozens, perhaps hundreds, of tightly packed ancient vases lie on the seabed, testament to some long-forgotten trader’s unfortunate voyage more than 1,600 years ago. A short boat ride away, the hulking frame of an Italian World War II ship appears through the gloom, soldiers’ personal items still scattered in the interior, its encrusted railings and propeller now home to growing colonies of fish and sponges. Off the rugged shores of Albania, one of the world’s least explored underwater coastlines, lies a wealth of treasures: ancient amphorae — long, narrow terracotta vessels — that carried olive oil and wine along trade routes between north Africa and the Roman Empire, wrecks with hidden tales of heroism and treachery from two world wars, and spectacular rock formations and marine life. “From what I’ve seen so far, you can’t swim more...

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday the future of the Balkans belongs in the West, reaffirming U.S. commitment to the still-tense European region amid strong Russian pressure to assert its historical influence there. Pence was speaking in Montenegro — a small Balkan country that joined NATO this year despite Moscow’s anger. It was his third and final stop in a European trip that saw him voicing support for nations threatened by Russian influence and highlighting U.S. commitment to its allies overseas amid worsening ties with Moscow. “We truly believe the future of the Western Balkans is in the West,” Pence said in Podgorica, the capital. “We look forward to affirming the commitment of the United States to building relationships and strengthening ties between the European community, the Western Balkans and the United States of America. “I bring greetings from President Donald Trump who sent me here as a visible sign of the alliance that we no...

NEW YORK (AP) — In many ways, the only thing changing for Brad Nessler is the blazer he will be wearing in the booth. Nessler is preparing for his first season as the voice of the SEC on CBS, filling the seat held for 17 years by friend Verne Lundquist and returning to the network where he first went national. His “new” partner is Gary Danielson, whom Nessler worked with for seven years at ESPN and ABC. And Nessler has spent plenty of Saturdays in Southeastern Conference country during a long career calling college football games. No doubt Nessler is comfortable with his new gig. He hopes viewers will be as content with him as they were with his predecessor. “You know you can’t be Uncle Verne, right?” Nessler said Tuesday at the CBS offices in Manhattan. “Maybe I’ll be Cousin Ness or something?” Nessler’s first game will be TCU at Arkansas on Sept. 9. The 61-year-old Nessler was a natural replacement for Lundquist, who is giving up the weekly grind of the SEC season,...

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — Amazon is holding a giant job fair Wednesday and plans to make thousands of job offers on the spot at nearly a dozen U.S. warehouses. Though it’s common for Amazon to ramp up its shipping center staff in August to prepare for holiday shopping, the magnitude of the hiring spree underscores Amazon’s growth when traditional retailers are closing stores — and blaming Amazon for a shift to buying goods online. Amazon is holding a giant job fair and plans to offer thousands of jobs at nearly a dozen US warehouses. Nearly 40,000 of the 50,000 packing, sorting and shipping jobs will be full time. (Aug. 2) Nearly 40,000 of the 50,000 packing, sorting and shipping jobs at Amazon will be full time. Most of them will count toward Amazon’s previously announced goal of  adding 100,000 full-time workers  by the middle of next year. The bad news is that more people are likely to lose jobs in stores than get jobs in warehouses, said Anthony...

SEI MENCIRIM, Indonesia (AP) — The slim boys in Muslim caps and robes at the Al Hidayah Islamic boarding school are grinning bolts of energy who love football, need a little coaxing to do their math and Quran lessons assiduously and aspire to become policemen or respected preachers. Their school, like many in rural Indonesia, started as a modest affair with a dusty yard, spartan sleeping quarters and an open-air classroom with a dirt floor and corrugated iron roofing. The boys, though, have been spoken to roughly by villagers, the school’s banners and billboards trampled and burned, and its head teacher reported to police. Students play soccer at Al Hidayah Islamic Boarding School, July 22, 2017, in Sei Mencirim, North Sumatra, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara) The 20 pupils are the sons of Islamic militants, reviled by most Indonesians for killings and other acts of violence that they justified with distorted interpretations of Islam. Nearly half of the boys’ fathe...

HOMEWOOD, Ala. (AP) — The Republican race for Jeff Sessions’ old Senate seat in Alabama will test which brand of conservatism voters prefer: The polished incumbent backed by the D.C. establishment or firebrand hardliners seeking an upset in the closely watched race. Incumbent Alabama Sen. Luther Strange was temporarily appointed to the Senate seat in February and is backed by a super political action committee tied to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. His challengers in the Aug. 15 primary include Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and former state Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was twice removed from his duties after losing battles on gay marriage and the public display of the Ten Commandments. “I’m running because I think it’s time to bring some common-sense conservative solutions to our country. A lot of people talk about being conservative. I’m running on a conservative record, actually taking on difficult problems,” Strange told a Repu...

BALTIMORE (AP) — A U.S. Supreme Court decision triggering new sentences for inmates serving mandatory life without parole for crimes committed as juveniles has had a far greater effect: The ruling is prompting lawyers to apply its fundamental logic — that it’s cruel and unusual to lock teens up for life — to a larger population, those whose sentences include a parole provision but who stand little chance of getting out. The court in January 2016 expanded its ban on mandatory life without parole for juveniles to more than 2,000 offenders already serving such sentences, saying teens should be treated differently than adult offenders because they’re less mature, prone to manipulation and capable of change. The court found that all but the rare juvenile lifer whose crime reflects “permanent incorrigibility” should have a chance to argue for freedom one day, and dozens serving mandatory terms have since been resentenced and released. But legal challenges are also being argued on be...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican senators are bucking President Donald Trump’s calls to revive the health care debate. And Trump just ousted his only top White House aide with deep links to the Republican Party. But the president and his party won’t be calling it quits any time soon. They remain tightly linked by a force more powerful than politics or personal ties: cash. Trump’s fundraising prowess is the engine of the Republican National Committee and a lifeline for every Republican planning to rely on the party for financial help during next year’s congressional races. Leaning heavily on Trump’s appeal among small donors, the party has raised $75 million in the first six months of the year, more than double what the Democratic National Committee had raised by the same point in President Barack Obama’s first year. “The president is somebody who absolutely is an asset when it comes to fundraising,” RNC chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel said. Trump resonates with a base of Repu...

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — President Michel Temer appeared to have the upper-hand Wednesday going into a key vote by the lower chamber of Brazil’s Congress on whether to suspend him and put him on trial over an alleged bribery scheme to line his pockets. Despite a 5 percent approval rating in opinion polls and myriad calls for him to resign the last few months, Temer has been able to maintain most of his governing coalition in the Chamber of Deputies, where he was the presiding officer for many years. Opposition lawmakers are hoping at least some of his support will be eroded by members having to publicly back a toxic president on national television. Major broadcaster Globo plans to transmit Wednesday’s proceedings live and all 513 members of the house are up for election next year. The opposition also believes that if it can’t muster the necessary votes to suspend Temer, it can at least stall a resolution by keeping enough members from entering the chamber so a quorum can’t...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolas Maduro’s government says it is close to convening a special assembly endowed with powers to rewrite the constitution, override other branches of government and punish opposition leaders. Two of his leading foes already were dragged from their homes by heavily armed security agents and thrown in a military prison Tuesday, drawing condemnation from the United States and some Latin American countries. But many other nations and international organizations were silent or limited themselves to expressions of concern. Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma were accused by the government-allied Supreme Court of violating the terms of their house arrest by plotting to escape and releasing video statements criticizing Maduro. Both men’s supporters denied the charges and vowed to continue to try to push the ruling socialist party from power. However, they gave little indication of how they planned to do that, and the capital ...