Merrifield mashes Mariners as Royals pick up third straight W

SEATTLE (AP) — With Whit Merrifield and the Kansas City Royals piling up the runs, Homer Bailey went on a mission Tuesday night.

Merrifield had two homers and a career-high six RBIs, Bailey worked into the eighth inning with 121 pitches and the Royals beat the Seattle Mariners 9-0.

The Royals jumped on struggling starter Yusei Kikuchi to get their third straight win. Merrifield drove a three-run homer against Kikuchi (3-5) in the fourth and added a two-run shot against Jesse Biddle in the eighth. Jorge Soler also homered for the Royals, and rookie Nicky Lopez had three hits.

That allowed Bailey to shift his focus toward covering as many innings as possible. He struck out six and gave Kansas City’s bullpen a breather.

“Getting the run support and the energy from the guys really helped picked me up and I knew I had to sharpen up, try to have some quick innings,” Bailey said. “Once we started scoring runs, my focus was really: go out there, have some quick innings, get the guys back in here, let them keep swinging.”

And swing they did, right from the start. The Royals started the game with three consecutive singles, taking a 2-0 lead on Alex Gordon’s two-run single. Soler added his 20th home run in the third to make it 3-0 and Bailey started rolling around the time Merrifield hit his first home run that made it 6-0 in the fourth.

After stranding two runners in each of the first three innings, Bailey retired 14 of the next 15 he faced. As the game reached the eighth, Bailey was asked if he could start the inning. His response? “Absolutely.”

“He executed his pitches, it’s as simple as that,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He does a great job of pitching. He’s a big league veteran guy. He’s got two no-hitters under his belt. He knows how to pitch, how to execute pitches. On days where he’s grinding, he knows how to make pitches when he needs to.”

Bailey (6-6) allowed just one baserunner past second in 7 2/3 innings and struck out six with just two walks.

Kikuchi allowed six runs in five innings. The Japanese rookie has had an unsettling June after a fairly positive start to his major league career. He’s 0-4 in five starts since May 25 and has allowed eight home runs during that stretch. Merrifield, who also had a two-run home run in the eighth inning and a sac fly, said Kikuchi got himself into trouble by falling behind in the count at key times.

“We knew this was going to be a process,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said of Kikuchi’s conversion from Japanese baseball.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Adalberto Mondesi left the game with right groin tightness. Yost said he will be held out of Wednesday’s series finale with the Mariners.

Mariners: Felix Hernandez was scheduled Tuesday to have an MRI on his right shoulder. The right-hander left his rehab assignment at Triple-A Tacoma on Friday due to fatigue and was scheduled for the scan of his right lat and the back of his shoulder after a visit with doctors Monday. Servais said the development is not good news for the 33-year-old, who has been out since May 12. “It’s concerning enough to take new images of that (injured area) and not guess,” Servais said.

HANIGER’S RETURN

Mitch Haniger said he is no longer in pain while walking after rupturing a testicle during a game this month. The All-Star right-fielder hopes to restart more strenuous activities like running this weekend or next week. He’s done some light arm and balance work while the Mariners were on the road, then rejoined his teammates in the clubhouse for the Kansas City series.

“The first couple of days the pain is too much and you can’t really move, so you don’t really have any options,” Haniger said. “But right now I feel like I’m walking around and there’s no pain, so I’m really trying to get things going but really not make it worse.”

Servais said the plan is to “be really cautious, really smart” with Haniger’s return.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Brad Keller (3-8, 3.97 ERA) tries to stop a run of seven losses in eight appearances since April 22.

Mariners: LHP Marco Gonzales (7-6, 4.50 ERA) is looking for his third straight win since stopping a six-game losing streak.

MLB BRIEF

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Major League Baseball says it was inappropriate for the umpire’s union to comment on the one-game suspension levied against San Diego Padres star Manny Machado for his conduct following his ejection for arguing a called third strike Saturday at Colorado.

The MLB Umpires Association said in a tweet Tuesday that Machado was suspended for contact with an umpire “and VIOLENTLY throwing his bat against the backstop with absolutely no regard to anyone’s safety.” The tweet added that “Violence in the workplace is not tolerated” and asked “Is this truly what MLB wants to teach our youth?”

MLB said in a statement that MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre “considered all the facts and circumstances of Machado’s conduct.” 

 

Pedal power

Rotarian Bob McKenzie of Tulsa, Okla., entered his first bicycle race in 2011 to raise money in the fight against polio, Rotary International?s signature effort.

A few years later, McKenzie organized his own team for Race Across America, advertised as the world?s toughest bicycle race. Riders start in Oceanside, Calif., and bike 3,000 miles across 12 states to Annapolis, Md. Along the way, they?ll climb 175,000 feet, traverse three major mountain ranges and cross four of America?s longest rivers.

The route takes racers through Iola, with a check-in point at Yates Center.

 

Members of the Iola Rotary group and Race Across America team Rotary RAAMS Polio gather outside Daylight Donuts in Iola Wednesday morning as the team passes through the city.

 

Iola?s Rotarians gathered Wednesday morning to welcome McKenzie?s team as they passed through the city. It?s becoming a tradition; the racing team has stopped to visit with Iola Rotarians the past three years. McKenzie once rode his bicycle from Tulsa to Iola to give a presentation about the race. Tulsa and Iola clubs are in the same district.

This is the fourth year McKenzie has organized a team for Race Across America (RAAM). His team is called Rotary RAAMS Polio. It includes four racers, 14 crew members and five minivans (one for each racer and additional media van). 

Most of the team is comprised of international Rotarians. McKenzie is the only American; the others come from Austria and Italy. Nine of the crew members come from outside the U.S.

The team raised $1.025 million last year, and nearly $3 million since it began, McKenzie said. This year?s goal is $1.2 million.

Last year, the team broke the world record for fastest time completing the course in the 50-59 age group (using the average of the team members? ages). They completed the race in 6 days 18 hours 4 minutes. They?re just an hour behind that time this year.

The stretch through Kansas is one of the toughest, he said. Racers came out of the mountains of Colorado and traveled  to Greensburg to spend last night in a hotel. They?ll travel through the rest of Kansas and the Ozark mountains today, spending the night at the Lake of the Ozarks.

 

Markus Mayr of Austria races along U.S. 54 on the east side of Iola Wednesday morning.

Russian scandal

MOSCOW (AP) — The number of Russian athletes accused of receiving banned treatments from a doctor could rise to 70, the country’s anti-doping agency said today.

The agency, known as RUSADA, previously said Monday it would file cases against 33 athletes from numerous sports suspected of receiving banned intravenous infusions.

RUSADA chief executive Yuri Ganus said that is just the “first package” of cases and a planned second package could take the number to 70.

The cases are all linked to a sports academy in central Russia’s Chuvashia region, a major center for track and field. RUSADA said many of the athletes were underage when they were given the infusions and some come from cycling, skiing and Paralympic sports.

They come as Russia seeks to have its ban from international track and field lifted in time to field a full team at the world championships in September and October. The Russian track federation has been banned since 2015 for widespread doping, though dozens from the country are allowed to compete as neutral athletes.

Ganus accused the Russian track federation, known as RusAF, of prioritizing cosmetic reforms over real cultural change.

“Over the course of four years we’ve spent a lot of time presenting athletics in a beautiful condition,” Ganus said. “We have enough material to say that RusAF cannot be reinstated in its current condition.”

Ganus also revealed that RUSADA is under two investigations from Russian authorities into its own conduct.

Ganus said Russian prosecutors were investigating a complaint that RUSADA employees exceeded their authority while looking into whether high jumper Danil Lysenko presented forged medical documents as an alibi for failing to notify drug testers of his whereabouts. Ganus said he believed the case originated with a complaint from someone unhappy with RUSADA’s work on doping cases.

The other matter involves tax authorities looking into a contract signed between RUSADA and the World Anti-Doping Agency, Ganus said.

RUSADA was reinstated by WADA last year, in the face of criticism from some Western athletes who believed Russia had not done enough to reform. Since then, RUSADA has increased its level of drug testing and pursued high-profile investigations into cases such as that of Lysenko and of seven athletes accused of training in secret in Kyrgyzstan with a banned coach.

Acting U.S. defense secretary steps down

WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan stepped down Tuesday before his formal nomination ever went to the Senate, citing a “painful” family situation that would hurt his children and reopen “wounds we have worked years to heal.”

President Donald Trump announced Shanahan’s departure in a tweet, and said Army Secretary Mark Esper would be the new acting Pentagon chief.

“I believe my continuing in the confirmation process would force my three children to relive a traumatic chapter in our family’s life and reopen wounds we have worked years to heal,” Shanahan said in a statement. “Ultimately, their safety and well-being is my highest priority.”

His withdrawal from one of the most critical positions in the government comes at a time of escalating tensions in the Middle East, a day after the U.S. authorized sending additional troops to the region, and after months of unexplained delays in the confirmation process.

The acting defense secretary did not provide specifics, but court records show a volatile family history around the time of his 2011 divorce. The couple had been married since 1986.

His ex-wife, Kimberley, was arrested several times on charges that included burglary, property damage and assault. The assault charge was a misdemeanor for domestic violence in August 2010 when, according to police records, she hit Shanahan a number of times, giving him a bloody nose and black eye. The police report said she was not injured, and he was not charged.

There was also a separate November 2011 incident in which the couple’s son, who was 17 at the time, struck his mother with a baseball bat in the home where he lived with her in Sarasota, Florida, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to battery and was sentenced to four years of probation.

In an interview with The Washington Post shortly before Trump announced that Shanahan was withdrawing his nomination, Shanahan spoke about the circumstances surrounding his 2011 divorce and said he didn’t want to drag his children through the experience again.

“Bad things can happen to good families … and this is a tragedy, really,” Shanahan told the Post.

In his statement, Shanahan said he asked to be withdrawn from the nomination process and would work on an “appropriate transition.”

The Pentagon, in a statement, said Esper will take over the job at midnight Sunday. Esper and Shanahan met at length Tuesday to begin transition planning.

In his tweet, Trump simply said Shanahan had done “a wonderful job” but would step aside to “devote more time to his family.” Later, Trump told reporters at the White House that he heard about the problems for the first time Monday.

“I didn’t ask him to withdraw, but he walked in this morning,” said Trump. “He said it’s going to be a rough time for him because of obviously what happened.”

In noting Esper’s move, Trump added, “I know Mark, and have no doubt he will do a fantastic job!” He said it’s “most likely” he will nominate Esper for the job “pretty soon.”

The post atop the Pentagon has not been filled permanently since retired Gen. James Mattis abruptly stepped down in December after delivering a blunt letter to Trump outlining a list of foreign policy differences and a warning that the administration should not allow relations with allies to fray.

Shanahan was put in place as acting secretary, but it wasn’t until May that Trump announced he would nominate Shanahan. That formal nomination has never come, inexplicably delaying the Senate process.

On Capitol Hill, the Shanahan news was met with mixed reactions.

Top Democrats said his sudden withdrawal underscores the shortcomings of White House vetting for key Trump administration jobs.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that “this Shanahan fiasco” shows that the administration’s national security policy is “a shambles.”

Senators said they were largely unaware of allegations involving Shanahan’s family situation when he was confirmed as deputy defense secretary in 2017.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal raised the possibility that Shanahan deliberately concealed the domestic problems, and he called for an investigation by the Defense Department’s inspector general. Shanahan, he said, “had an obligation to reveal it himself. This is potentially a violation of law.”

Trump defended the vetting process, calling it “great,” and said the Shanahan issues were “very unfortunate,” and they “came up a little bit over the last short period of time.”

Sen. James Inhofe, the Oklahoma Republican who is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Trump called him about Shanahan on Tuesday. The president didn’t offer any specifics, Inhofe said, but mentioned “allegations that would be very uncomfortable and really not worth making sacrifices for.”

Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, has been leading the Pentagon as acting secretary since Jan. 1, a highly unusual arrangement for arguably the most sensitive Cabinet position.

His prospects for confirmation have been spotty due in large part to questions about his lengthy work as former Boeing executive and persistent questions about possible conflicts of interest.

The Defense Department’s Inspector General cleared Shanahan of any wrongdoing in connection with accusations he had shown favoritism toward Boeing during his time as deputy defense secretary, while disparaging Boeing competitors.

In Shanahan’s tenure at the department he’s had to deal with a wide array of international hotspots, ranging from missile launches by North Korea to the sudden shift of military ships and aircraft to the Middle East to deal with potential threats from Iran.

Shanahan, 56, had extensive of experience in the defense industry but little in government. In more than six months as the acting secretary, he emphasized a shift from the resources and tactics required to fight small wars against extremist groups to what Shanahan called “great power” competition with China and Russia.

Drug bust among largest in U.S. history

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — U.S. authorities seized 33,000 pounds, or 16 tons, of cocaine from a ship at Philadelphia’s port in what they described as one of the largest drug busts in American history.

They said the haul could have been worth more than $1 billion on the street.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Philadelphia announced the massive bust on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, saying that law enforcement agents found the cocaine on a ship at the Packer Marine Terminal. Two members of the crew were arrested and face federal charges.

Agents with dogs swarmed the colossal ship Tuesday afternoon, including one officer who could be seen climbing into the back of a large red container on wheels. Court documents said the bust began Monday.

An affidavit alleged that crew members helped load the cocaine onto the MSC Gayane while it was at sea off the west coast of South America. Citing an interview with one of the crew members, authorities said a total of 14 boats approached the vessel on two separate occasions during its voyage. Several crew members allegedly helped transfer bales of cocaine.

The ship’s second mate, Ivan Durasevic, and another crew member, Fonofaavae Tiasage, were charged with conspiracy to possess cocaine aboard a ship. An online court docket did not list attorneys for the defendants. It wasn’t clear whether other crew members would face charges.

The drug seizure is the latest in a series of large cocaine busts along the East Coast. In a March bust in Philadelphia, drug dogs sniffed out 1,185 pounds of cocaine worth about $38 million — at that time the city’s largest seizure of the drug in more than two decades.

In February, customs agents seized 3,200 pounds at the Port of New York and New Jersey with a street value estimated at $77 million. That was the largest cocaine bust at the ports since 1994.

Online ship trackers said the vessel detained in Philadelphia sails under the flag of Liberia and arrived in Philadelphia after 5 a.m. Monday. The ship’s previous ports of call were the Bahamas on June 13, Panama on June 9, Peru on May 24 and Colombia on May 19, records show.

Federal authorities say Colombia is the primary supplier of cocaine to the U.S.

The MSC Gayane’s owner, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co., said in a statement it was “aware of reports of an incident at the Port of Philadelphia in which U.S. authorities made a seizure of illicit cargo.” The privately owned Swiss shipping company said it “takes this matter very seriously and is grateful to the authorities for identifying any suspected abuse of its services.”

Patrick Trainor, a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Philadelphia, said that based on current prices in the area, the street value of the haul is around $525 million to well over $1 billion.

Tuesday’s seizure did not set a U.S. record. A 1989 bust in downtown Los Angeles netted almost 43,000 pounds (19,504 kilograms) of the drug.

BC Myer

Bernard “BC” Myer, 89 of Wylie, Texas died Sunday, June 16, 2019, in Wylie, Texas of natural causes. He was born on May 5, 1930 to Merle L. Myer and Rose A. Myer in Humboldt. 

He married Roberta Jean Hendrix of Iola; they had four children together and later divorced. He married Mary F. Taylor on Sept. 22, 1975 in Durant, Okla. 

He served in the U.S. Navy from Nov. 22, 1950 to Sept. 16, 1954, as an Engineman 3rd Class USS Sussex. 

He is survived by daughters Sandra K. Mintz of Humboldt, Rhonda S. Naff of Humboldt, and Cathy H. Smith of Plano, Texas; sons Terry A. Myer of Ardmore, Okla., Michael D. Myer of Humboldt, and Charlie W. Carr of Weatherford, Texas; 13 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. 

He was preceded in death by Mary F. Myer.

Funeral services for Bernard will be at 3 p.m., Wednesday at Restland Abbey Chapel, located at 13005 Greenville Ave. Dallas, Texas.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Home Care Assistance of Rockwall and Anchor 4 Hope Hospice of Plano, Texas.

Gary Wilson

Gary L. Wilson, age 72, of Neosho Falls, died Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at his home. He was born June 4, 1947 in Gas to George and Dannie (Gregg) Wilson. 

He married Wanda (Cuppy) Wilson on Jan. 1, 1966, at Gas.

He served in the Army from 1969 to 1977 with one tour in Vietnam.

He was preceded in death by a son, Tommy Wilson.

Survivors include his wife of the home; two sons George Wilson, New Jersey, and David Wilson, Newton; one daughter Rebecca Carney, Iola; and numerous other relatives.

Family will greet friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday in the Venue at Feuerborn Family Funeral Service, 1883 Us-Hwy 54 Iola.

Costco shooting: Attorney says deadly force was excessive

LOS ANGELES — A man fatally shot by an off-duty Los Angeles police officer at a Costco in Corona pushed the officer — but that does not justify the use of deadly force, an attorney representing his family said Tuesday.

Civil rights attorney Dale K. Galipo said it was unclear why Kenneth French pushed the officer, who was holding his 18-month-old son in a food sample line when the altercation occurred Friday.

Before the officer fired, there was a gap in time when the officer declared he was a police officer and French’s father stepped between them. Galipo said the security video shows this interaction.

“His father was trying to intervene and explain that his son had a mental disability,” Galipo said. “He was not attacking him at the time the officer shot.”

French is normally calm, but he had a recent change of medications that might have affected his behavior, Galipo said. The attorney said French was “non-verbal” because of his disability.

Galipo said the officer’s life was not threatened and, instead, the officer acted out of anger because someone had pushed him.

“The shooting was excessive and complete unjustified,” Galipo said, noting French was unarmed.

The officer fatally shot French and critically wounded French’s parents.

Attorney David Winslow, who is representing the officer, said his client was getting a food sample for his son when he was attacked and knocked unconscious. When he awoke, the officer was “fighting for his life,” the attorney said.

Authorities said the assault, which was captured on Costco security cameras, was unprovoked and led the officer to fire his 9-millimeter pistol.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore briefly addressed the shooting in front of the Police Commission on Tuesday, telling the panel, “There’s many more questions than answers at this point.”

“I’ll wait for the full investigation before commenting on the officer’s decision to use deadly force,” Moore said. “The use of deadly force, whether on- or off-duty, is a matter that is the most-scrutinized decision that we have in this organization, and in this instance, it will be as well.”

French was struck by gunfire multiple times. His parents, Russell and Paola French, remain hospitalized in critical condition, the chief said.

“My heart goes out to the parents of Mr. French,” Moore added. “I pray for their recovery.”

Corona Police Chief George Johnstone said in a video statement released Tuesday that his detectives will continue to interview witnesses and evaluate video and forensic evidence from the store.

“For several reasons, including the need to interview a number of witnesses and review evidence, no arrest was made at the time of the incident,” Johnstone said, noting the chaotic scene.

Johnstone said his department’s investigation had been hindered by not being able to interview everyone involved. It was unclear to whom he was referencing.

Once all the evidence has been gathered and evaluated, it will be presented to the Riverside County district attorney for a decision on charges, he said.

The officer — who was identified by multiple sources as Salvador Sanchez, a patrol officer in the Southwest Division — suffered minor injuries.

Los Angeles investigators are assessing whether the off-duty officer, who has yet to be officially identified by the force, violated any department policies in the shooting. Sanchez has been employed with the LAPD since May 2012, according to department records.

Ultimately, the five-person Los Angeles Police Commission will decide whether the officer was justified in the shooting and whether he followed department rules before pulling the trigger. That investigation is separate from the criminal one.

If the officer was knocked unconscious during the attack, as his attorney alleges, it would justify the use of deadly force, said Ed Obayashi, a Plumas County sheriff’s deputy and use-of-force adviser to the California Association of Police Training Officers.

The injury makes him a victim of a serious violent felony — one that would likely have made him disoriented, groggy and launched his brain into a “fight or flight” mode — as opposed to a misdemeanor battery in which the injury was not as significant, Obayashi said.

“What type of person punches a parent and knocks them out carrying a baby?” he said. “The justification based on this has really jumped way off the scale. He has every right to defend himself under those circumstances.”

Family members of the Frenches are challenging that account of the event. Kenneth French was nonverbal and had the mental capacity of a teenager, said his cousin Rick Shureih. French had no history of being violent, he said, adding that his parents are kind and gentle people.

Galipo said there appears to be unequal treatment of police officers compared with other citizens when deadly force is used.

“This is demonstrated by police departments that often cover for their officers and find shootings to be in policy when civil juries find the same shootings to be excessive and unreasonable, and in violation of the United States Constitution,” he said. “Additionally, rarely are any officers charged criminally with the shootings of unarmed people.”

Galipo noted that the officer did identify himself as a police officer before opening fire.

Several people who spoke at the Police Commission meeting Tuesday criticized commissioners for remaining silent about the shooting and failing to ask questions.

Commissioner Eileen Decker said that “it would be premature and inappropriate to ask questions” because the commission “will be adjudicating” the case.

Other speakers questioned why an officer was carrying a firearm while off duty in a crowded store.

But experts say it’s fairly common for officers to carry their firearms in public while not working. Off-duty police, like private citizens with firearm permits in California, are also legally allowed to fire their weapon in self-defense in the event of an imminent attack and if there is no ability to retreat from the situation, said Jody Armour, a law professor at the University of Southern California.

“The real question will be whether a reasonable person in the situation of the shooter would have believed he was under attack, threatened with death or serious bodily injury,” he said. “The shooter has to feel like they’re about to be attacked and there was no less drastic alternative.”

Sorority members vote for national officers

The Kappa Alpha Chapter of Phi Tau Omega Sorority met for its monthly social Monday at the home of Jeanna Church.

Members enjoyed a salad supper before a game of “Left, Right, Center.” Gwen Tefft was the winner; all in attendance received a gift from the hostess.

Kappa Alpha members marked their choices for the national officer’s elections at the National Convention, set for June 28-30 in West Des Moines, Iowa. Eight Kappa Alpha members and one past member will attend.

The next business meeting will be at 7 p.m. July 1 at Community National Bank.