The Colorado Rockies (28-47) had the day off Thursday after an uneven road trip that took them from Las Vegas to Wrigley Field. They dropped two of three to the Athletics, with the lone win coming in a wild 23-9 game, then went to Chicago and again lost two of three.
Northeast
Doug Emhoff says wife Kamala Harris supports Israel 'in her soul' and passes gut-check for Jewish priorities
In an 11th-hour pitch to Jewish voters, second gentleman Doug Emhoff told a crowd in Pennsylvania that his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, “feels it in her gut” what it means to support Israel.
“Let me be direct and answer the question that Jews have asked for generations. Yes, she feels it in her gut. Kamala feels it, as we say, in her kishkes,” Emhoff said during an address in Pittsburgh.
The so-called gut test came up during the days of former President Barack Obama, when some Jews questioned how deep his support for Israel was.
“Her commitment to the security of Israel is unwavering. Not just because of what she said publicly, though she has said through her entire career, consistently, but also by what she does and says when it’s just us,” Emhoff said.
The address was timed to coincide with the six-year anniversary of the devastating shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue, which was last Sunday. Both Harris and former President Donald Trump have been courting Jewish voters unsettled by the conflict in the Middle East.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, flanked by Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks to mark the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard)
Historically, the religious voting bloc has favored Democrats. About 7 in 10 voted for President Biden in 2020. A Pew Research poll from last month put their support for Harris at over two-thirds.
“I know it’s in her soul. I know she feels what you and I and Jews across America are feeling today. She gets it. And to tell you the truth, it’s not because she married a nice Jewish boy,” Emhoff said.
SENATORS THREATEN TO STRIP FUNDING TO UN AND PALESTINIANS IF ISRAEL IS KICKED OUT OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY
“After Charlottesville, after the Tree of Life, after Oct. 7, the person that I turned to and talked to was my wife, after Hamas brutally executed Hirsch and the other hostages. She and I grieved together,” he went on.
He then turned to the “threat” he said Trump poses to Jews.
“Whenever chaos and cruelty are given a green light, Jew-hatred is historically not far behind,” Emhoff said of the Republican nominee. “That matters today because Donald Trump is nothing if not an agent of chaos and cruelty.”
“We should never have to wonder where our government stands,” he continued.
“We should never have to wonder whether our leaders are praising Nazis behind closed doors. So when Donald Trump says something unhinged, do not roll your eyes. Roll up your sleeves,” he said.
“Her commitment to the security of Israel is unwavering. Not just because of what she said publicly, though she has said through her entire career, consistently, but also by what she does and says when it’s just us,” second gentleman Doug Emhoff said of his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)
DOUG EMHOFF DOESN’T DENY REPORT HE SLAPPED EX-GIRLFRIEND OUTSIDE OVERSEAS MOVIE EVENT
Emhoff was referring to a report from The Atlantic, where Trump reportedly said, “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had.”
While Jewish voters as a whole tend to favor liberals, orthodox Jews are expected to largely support Trump in next week’s election. A poll by Nishma Research, which surveys Orthodox Jews, found some 77% support Trump.
Pennsylvania has some 300,000 voting-age Jewish residents. Around 80,000 votes separated Biden and Trump in 2020.
The Trump team has held out hope they can chip away at Democratic support within the Jewish community. Trump himself has reacted with disbelief that Jewish voters support Democrats.
Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have been courting Jewish voters unsettled by the conflict in the Middle East. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“It doesn’t make sense,” Trump said last month of Jews who vote for Harris. “Any Jewish person who votes for her should have their head examined. I find it hard to believe. Part of it is a habit, I think.”
“I’m not going to call this a prediction, but, in my opinion, the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss” in November, he said.
Harris has walked a tight rope between maintaining support for Israel and Jewish priorities and trying to avoid upsetting Arab American voters, who represent a large voting bloc in swing state Michigan.
Some Arab American voters, fed up with the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza, have said they will vote for Trump as a form of protest. A new poll from the Arab News Research and Studies Unit found Trump leading among Arab American voters 43 to 41%.
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new video loaded: Fans Show Up to the Parade in Their Best Knicks-Themed Attire
transcript
transcript
Fans Show Up to the Parade in Their Best Knicks-Themed Attire
New York Knicks fans showed up in droves to a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan in their best orange and blue outfits to honor the N.B.A champions.
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“Patrick Ewing. He didn’t get a ring. But I wear your sneakers, bro. When I was in high school, back in the ’90s, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, they were the team that I rooted for in the ’90s. They didn’t make it. So as a tribute to him because this is where I started at being a fan, Patrick Ewing. Knicks hat in denim — I’m a denim fanatic. So I love denim — Knicks hat. And yeah, that’s it.” “This is my style. I usually dress like this every day. But I did a special Knicks edition. It’s all really fun. I start with my makeup. I did really cute flames on my eyes because the Knicks are fire. I don’t really know what I’m going to do before I put it on. I just figure it out along the way. Like, this is a piece of fabric and I just layer in stuff.” “This is from my online boutique and the hat I just bought on the way to the parade because I wanted to match the jumpsuit, and that’s how I came up with the outfit.” “She was ready to go, man.” “Can you show your fingernail?” “She’s been sleeping in her Jalen Brunson jersey for the last 10 weeks. We’ve been watching all the games. You want to tell them who’s your favorite player?” “Jalen Brunson.” “I’m pretty sure this jersey was actually made for a human baby. But they’re selling them around the block. And we threw it on Chester and everyone started clapping. So — he wears it well.” “Blue and orange.” “So I did blue and orange.” “It had to be orange and blue. “Orange and blue. Orange and blue.”
New York Knicks fans showed up in droves to a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan in their best orange and blue outfits to honor the N.B.A champions.
By Meg Felling, Jeremy Raff, Ang Li and David Cheung
June 18, 2026
Boston, MA
MBTA, state transportation chief apologizes for ‘insensitive’ employee hair-pulling incident
Gov. Maura Healey’s Transportation Secretary and MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng said he has apologized “fully” to the subordinate T employee he’s been accused of pulling the hair of at a work dinner two years ago.
Eng has come under fire for the late 2024 incident this week and admits that it was a “mistake” that has forced him to reflect upon his actions.
“My goal is always to lead with respect and inclusivity,” Eng said in a statement. “I know that this was a mistake, and I own that. I have apologized to this employee fully and have reflected on my actions.
“I am committed to learning from this experience and upholding the highest standards of professionalism in all my interactions as secretary and general manager,” Eng added.
The MBTA said the incident, first reported by Contrarian Boston, occurred in November 2024 at a restaurant where T employees and their spouses were having a team dinner.
WCVB-TV reported that the MBTA employee has told people the interaction with Eng was not welcome and highly inappropriate.
The station described Eng as being accused of committing the hair-pulling faux pas while saying good-bye to the T employee after a work function at a brewery.
The MBTA confirmed that an “insensitive” interaction occurred between Eng and an employee, but downplayed the incident as occurring in the context of a larger conversation about hair from earlier in the evening that included multiple people.
Eng was poking fun at his own baldness when the alleged interaction occurred, according to the MBTA.
“The MBTA is committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive workplace environment,” MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said in a statement. “Leadership plays a critical role in that. Two years ago, General Manager Eng had an insensitive interaction with one of his direct reports. He subsequently apologized directly to this employee.
“Any claims of harassment, discrimination or retaliatory behavior are completely without merit,” Pesaturo added.
Sources have told WCVB-TV that the T employee is involved in negotiations to leave their job with the agency.
Eng is the state’s top transportation official. Healey appointed him as general manager of the MBTA in 2023, and interim transportation secretary in late 2025.
He was paid $509,114 last year, which includes a $30,000 retention payment he is eligible for each year he remains with the T, per his contract and state payroll records. He does not get additional pay for working dual roles in Massachusetts, but continues to take in a roughly $185,000 pension from New York.
Eng, former president of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Long Island Rail Road, came out of retirement to work for the MBTA, but remains retired with the New York State and Local Employees’ Retirement System, which is paying him a gross monthly pension of $15,357.39, according to the New York State Comptroller’s office.
Eng, who stepped down from his MTA post in February 2022, retired from New York’s ERS the following month, March 31, 2022, the comptroller’s office said. His monthly pension equates to $184,288 in annual compensation, which he can continue to collect while working at the MBTA, where he is one of the highest-paid transit leaders in the country.
Eng has been credited by state officials for helping to get the MBTA back on track following a federal probe for a number of safety lapses that culminated with a fatality, when a 39-year-old man was dragged to death by a Red Line train in April 2022.
He is under contract with the T through April 10, 2028, with an option for a one-year extension. His base pay for 2026 is $484,206, per state payroll records.
By comparison, Eng was paid $285,254 in his final year leading the Long Island Rail Road, per the New York State Comptroller’s office.
Pittsburg, PA
Colorado Rockies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates game discussion: Bubba Chandler vs. Kyle Freeland
That leaves the Rockies at 6-9 in June with a -7 run differential. Even that number is softened by the 23-run outburst against the Athletics. Colorado has been pesky and more competitive, which is an improvement from last month, but the results are still the results: they enter tonight with the worst record in baseball — if only by a game.
Cole Carrigg has brought energy since arriving, and Sterlin Thompson is coming off a two-homer game at Wrigley. There are plenty of reasons to keep watching. The problem is that the old bad-team tropes are still there: blown leads, rocked starters, missed chances, defensive mistakes, and poor execution. The Rockies have been in more games, but they are still too often finding ways to let winnable games get away.
Now they get the Pirates at home.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (38-37) arrive at Coors Field in fourth place in the competitive NL Central — and only 1.5 games out of a wild card spot. Pittsburgh gets plenty of attention for its hyped rotation, led by Paul Skenes, but the offense has been much improved. The Pirates rank third in MLB in batting average, third in on-base percentage, fourth in OPS, fifth in runs scored, and sixth in stolen bases.
Kyle Freeland takes the mound to open the homestand for the Rox. The left-hander enters at 1-7 with a 7.98 ERA, 49 strikeouts, and a 1.70 WHIP over 58.2 innings.
The fastball has been the biggest issue. Freeland is leaving too many four-seamers over the middle of the plate, and hitters have punished it. Opponents are slugging .794 against the pitch, which is especially damaging because he still throws it roughly 27-29% of the time.
That continued in his last start, when Freeland allowed six runs on 10 hits over 5.2 innings. He gave up 12 hard-hit balls, with both the cutter and four-seamer taking damage. The cutter was his most-used pitch in that outing, but it did not solve the contact problem. His sweeper has been his best pitch, holding hitters to a .171 batting average and .371 slugging percentage with a 32.8% whiff rate.
The Rockies do not need Freeland to be perfect tonight, but they need him to avoid the middle-middle mistakes that have turned innings quickly this season.
Pittsburgh will counter with Bubba Chandler, a 23-year-old right-hander who enters at 2-7 with a 4.76 ERA, 68 strikeouts, and a 1.38 WHIP over 68.0 innings.
The record is not pretty, but the stuff is real. Chandler averages 98.5 mph with his four-seam fastball and topped out over 101 mph in his last start. He has used the fastball nearly half the time this season, pairing it most often with a changeup and slider.
The slider has been his best bat-missing pitch, generating a 37.9% whiff rate on the season. The changeup has also been effective, holding hitters to a .186 batting average and .288 slugging percentage. Chandler has walked 43 batters, so the Rockies’ best chance may be making him work instead of chasing their way out of innings.
Kyle Karros has been swinging it well lately, hitting .370/.442/.565 over his last 15 games and raising his season wRC+ to 90. Willi Castro has two home runs, nine RBI, and a .680 slugging percentage over his last seven games, while T.J. Rumfield is hitting .321 with a .750 slugging percentage and two home runs in his last seven games.
For Pittsburgh, Bryan Reynolds has been especially hot, hitting .414/.469/.828 with three home runs over his last seven games. Brandon Lowe leads the team with 18 home runs and 49 RBI while slugging .511, and Endy Rodríguez has played well from behind the plate while posting a 149 wRC+ in 76 plate appearances since returning to the lineup in mid-May.
For Colorado, the task is straightforward: get a steadier start from Freeland, make Chandler throw strikes, and turn the recent flashes from the lineup into enough sustained pressure to win a winnable game.
First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. MDT
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150
Pirates SB Nation Site: Bucs Dugout
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