Luis Robert Jr. is set to transition to a new role in left field.

The New York Mets are shifting gears to offer more playing time in center field to rookie sensation A.J. Ewing, the long-term plan for his position. As a result, Robert is slated to make his first-ever appearance in left field in the major leagues this Sunday, as confirmed by interim manager Andy Green.

“He’s confident that he’ll ultimately thrive in that spot,” Green remarked prior to the Mets’ thrilling comeback victory over the Nationals at Citi Field. He pointed out that Robert has been honing his skills with outfield coach Gilbert Gomez in preparation for this move.

Green anticipates that Ewing, who has predominantly been covering left field, will increase his frequency in center field from once every three games to twice within the same timeframe.

Meanwhile, Robert will continue to occupy center field for one out of every three games.

The Mets hoped to trade Robert before the deadline, but a deal never materialized, leaving them with two center fielders.

Ewing got his opportunity this season after Robert went on the injured list in April and has played the position at a high level.

Kodai Senga indicated to Green during the last trip that he was fine to pitch a second straight day if needed.

The right-hander wasn’t needed, but it served as a message to Green that back-to-back appearances shouldn’t be an issue for Senga, who has shifted to the closer’s role with Devin Williams on the injured list. Senga earned his second save in as many chances Friday.

“Assuming he feels good, a back-to-back is imminent if the situation arises,” Green said. “I don’t feel pressed to force it just to say he threw back-to-back. It’s going to happen, so if it doesn’t happen today or this week, I am not bothered by it. We’ll let the games determine how he is used.”

Carson Benge has reached base in 18 straight games thanks to his 1-for-2 effort against the Nationals on Saturday, the second-longest such streak by a Mets player this season.

Juan Soto reached base in 18 straight games from March 26 to May 2 (with an IL stint in the middle).

In a tragic turn of events, a shooting on Saturday evening at a Kentucky park left one person dead and four others injured.

Governor Andy Beshear addressed the unfolding news of the Lexington shooting during his speech at the Kentucky Democratic Party’s Moving Forward Together event held at the Hyatt Regency. The venue was just a short distance from Charles Young Park, where the shooting occurred.

A gripping video shared by Devine Carama, who leads the Lexington mayor’s youth gun violence reduction program, captured the moment gunfire erupted.

“My heart is broken,” Carama expressed. “This evening we experienced a shooting at the park, resulting in multiple victims and one person battling for life. While I was trying to shield four young individuals, someone standing merely eight inches away was shot,” he recounted in a post.

The video startlingly captures at least 13 shots echoing through the park.

Carama recalled other parkgoers ‘trying to help with CPR,’ one lifting a young victim ‘who got shot,’ and ‘EMS responding to multiple victims in real time.’

‘This is not normal. We come together every year as a family and kick it on the Eastside and we haven’t had something like this happen, EVER,’ he wrote.     

Chief of Lexington Police Lawrence Weathers was on the scene investigating as well, LEX News reported. 

‘To stop mass shootings, we have got to elect Democrats that will actually do something about it,’ Beshear said during his speech, hours after other shootings in Virginia and Michigan.

Chief Weathers said multiple children were among those shot in an update issued at the scene shortly thereafter.

He said a 4-year-old, a 14-year-old and two adults were shot around 6.45pm at Charles Young Park. All were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.   

The park was in the midst of an outdoor concert event slated for 6 to 8pm, the Lexington Herald Leader first reported.

It remains unclear whether a suspect was apprehended.

Weathers told reporters at the scene that he didn’t believe there was a threat to the public, the Herald Leader reported. 

A Lexington Police Department spokesperson told the Daily Mail the investigation was still active around 10pm ET. 

‘No further details are available at this time,’ they said.

The University of Kentucky HealthCare, meanwhile, reportedly sent an email to employees saying that it had responded to the ‘tragic shooting at Charles Young Park’ to provide care to ‘multiple patients.’

Police were filmed making a perimeter around the park with their cruisers before sundown.

Chief Weathers told reporters during his press conference: ‘If you know somebody who might be inclined to use a weapon, please do anything you can do to let us know before something happens. Please let us know.’ 

A Michigan mass shooting that took place on Friday left a 45-year-old man, a 40-year-old woman and a 16-year-old boy dead.

Suspected gunman Chad Hickman is also believed to have killed a 53-year-old man at a second home nearby and a 29-year-old woman who was found dead in a wooded area alongside Hickman, who turned the gun on himself, cops said.

A shooting at Virginia State University early Saturday injured five people, including a student, in an incident that involved ‘multiple suspects,’ according to the school. A 19-year-old suspect was arrested Saturday evening. The shooting remains under investigation.

In a dramatic encounter earlier this week, a runner in Anchorage, Alaska, found herself in a battle for survival against a bear and ended up in the hospital thereafter.

While running solo on the Wolverine Bowl trail at Prospect Heights, the woman courageously managed to escape the clutches of the brown bear, effectively deploying her bear spray to fend off the threat, as reported by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Following the harrowing ordeal, she was promptly transported to a nearby hospital, where she received medical attention for her injuries.

In response to the incident, biologists investigated the scene, gathering evidence, although no bears were spotted during their survey.

The department said anyone who sees a bear or another wild animal acting aggressively or unusually should report it.

Warning signs have been posted at the Prospect Heights trailhead, the departmet said, adding that hikers should stay off closed trails.

“Thick, dense summer foliage can block sightlines, making surprise encounters more likely,” the department said. “Choose hiking routes with good visibility and away from known attractants, like salmon-bearing streams.”

When hiking in bear country, people should carry a deterrent such as bear spray or a firearm, stay in groups, make noise to avoid surprising a bear, stay alert for signs of bears, don’t approach bears and keep pets on a leash.

“If you surprise a bear, especially one with cubs or on a food cache, it may react in a threatened or defensive manner,” the department said. “The bear may be agitated and may huff, stomp, make a popping sound with its teeth, salivate or lay its ears back against its head and charge.”

They urged staying calm, standing your ground, readying deterrent, staying in a group and talking calmly. Never run.

“If the bear is stationary, move away slowly while keeping your eyes on the bear,” the department said. “If the bear starts to move toward you or charges, stop and stand your ground. Let the bear know you are not a threat. Behaving calmly, moving slowly, and speaking in a low calm voice will help de-escalate the situation. If the bear continues to approach, use your deterrent when the bear is within range.”

The attack comes less than a month after another woman was mauled by a bear in Anchorage.

The July victim was walking with a friend and her three dogs in the Bear Valley residential neighborhood, adjacent to Chugach State Park in south Anchorage, when the bear approached.

Officials said the hikers were on an unofficial, user-made trail that climbs a steep hillside in a zigzag pattern. The area was heavily overgrown with dense vegetation, which created poor visibility and increased the risk of surprising wildlife, the department said.

“The bear came out of the dense alders, made brief contact with one of the hikers, and left the scene,” the department added.

The woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was expected to recover.

In a whimsical turn of events, OpenAI’s office in Bellevue, Washington, became the unlikely stage for a protest that felt more like a carnival than a rally. Demonstrators arrived armed with balloons and dressed up as rebellious AI characters, creating a scene that defied the usual gravity of such events.

Caught on video and shared on the platform X, the protest displayed an elaborate choreography of imagination. Participants took over staircases, waved their arms in sync, engaged in playful chase with balloons, and amused themselves with leapfrog, all while clapping with exuberance. Naturally, this peculiar display quickly captured attention and provoked smiles across the internet.

X user Mario Nawfal humorously remarked on the shift in protesting styles, saying, “Long gone are the days when revolutions involved pitchforks, torches, and angry mobs… The anti-AI crowd is getting TOO creative!”

Observers couldn’t help but contrast this playful protest with the more serious demonstrations of the past, such as activists chaining themselves to the doors of tech giants like Facebook and Twitter, highlighting the unique playful nature of this latest activism.

Reactions online were as varied as they were entertaining. Descriptions of the protest as the “most unserious” were common, and debates emerged about its actual impact. Additionally, some raised environmental concerns over the use of balloons, sparking a wider conversation on the methods employed by those advocating against AI advances.

The anti-AI protesters are calling on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to address a series of issues. Among them are discussions about AI’s limitations in mathematics and plans to ensure the technology remains a tool.

OpenAI officially opened its new engineering office in downtown Bellevue, Washington, earlier this year, its largest outside of San Francisco. The retro-modern, wood-paneled space was designed for the company’s roughly 250 employees in the area with room for as many as 1,400.

California has become the epicenter of recent tech layoffs, with more than 16,000 tech workers laid off over the past seven months, according to state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification data reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle.

More recently, Salesforce announced plans for additional layoffs in October as the company continues implementing AI throughout its operations.

In a startling episode, a teenager was taken into custody shortly after a shooting incident rocked Virginia State University. The violent occasion coincided with the arrival of freshmen settling into campus life.

While fortunately, none of the five people struck by gunfire lost their lives, one individual remains in critical condition as of Saturday night, fighting to recover in hospital.

Authorities apprehended a 19-year-old, unaffiliated with VSU, just hours after the event. The suspect was discovered hiding within a campus closet and taken into custody on Saturday afternoon.

This arrested individual now faces eight serious charges, including malicious wounding and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, as confirmed by the Chesterfield County Police.

Details surrounding the teenager’s alleged motivations and any potential ties to the university remain undisclosed by investigators.

Campus police and Chesterfield County officers discovered five people suffering from gunshot wounds in the university’s Quad Annexes outside campus dormitories.

At least one of the wounded was later confirmed to be a student.

The shooting was still under investigation later on Saturday and happened as Virginia State’s academic year began. 

Many students completed the university’s ‘New Trojans Experience’ for incoming students hours earlier, where they received university pins and listened to a speech by former NFL quarterback Cam Newton.

Residence halls opened for students a week ago, and classes resume on Monday. 

Police and university officials have not publicly identified any of the victims. The five were taken to hospitals, and one initially listed as having life-threatening injuries has been upgraded to critical condition, county police said.

The others suffered non-life-threatening injuries. 

The person confirmed to be a student was among those whose injuries were not life-threatening, and the student has been released from a hospital, the university said.

VSU has a long history of shootings with five people wounded in three attacks in 202 and one wounded and one killed near campus last year. 

The university said in a statement early Saturday that the shooting involved ‘multiple suspects’.

Police later said they did not believe there was an immediate threat to the campus community, and the lockdown had been lifted.

‘VSU Police will maintain an increased presence on campus as the investigation continues,’ the university said.

‘Students should monitor their VSU email for additional safety measures currently in effect and information about available support resources.

‘Although the lockdown has been lifted, members of the VSU community are asked to remain mindful of the ongoing law enforcement activity and avoid the immediate area where investigators are processing the scene.’ 

Local leaders expressed dismay at the shooting and sent their best wishes to the wounded victims.

‘Virginia State University is my alma mater. Waking up to this news is heartbreaking,’ Rozia Henson, a Democratic Party member of the Virginia House of Delegates, said.

‘My prayers are with everyone affected this morning, with their families, and with the entire Trojan family. VSU, we are with you.’

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger said she and her husband were praying for those who were recovering from their wounds.

‘Adam and I are praying for a quick recovery for those who were shot this morning at Virginia State University, and our thoughts are with the VSU community,’ she said.

‘Thank you to the first responders and law enforcement who responded to the scene.’

Paramount Skydance’s attempted $81 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery has sparked legal action that may jeopardize a crucial funding source for California’s Democratic Party. Influential executives from Big Media, regarded as significant financial contributors, are expressing concern, as revealed by The Post.

Within this vibrant industry, directors, screenwriters, stagehands, and journalists at companies merging entertainment with news—like Warner, Paramount, Disney, and Comcast—vastly outnumber top executives and tend to lean Democrat. Nonetheless, the substantial financial backing for political campaigns, both within California and nationally, predominantly stems from higher-level executives.

According to insider information, things might take a turn since California Attorney General Rob Bonta, alongside progressive attorneys general, have initiated a lawsuit intended to disrupt Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Entertainment leaders, many of whom are based in Hollywood—Bonta’s own jurisdiction—are urging a settlement with David Ellison, the head of Paramount Skydance.

This call for negotiation isn’t necessarily motivated by an affinity for Ellison, an emerging producer supported significantly by his wealthy father, Larry Ellison. Instead, these executives are driven by the precarious state of their industry, seeking to secure their own future.

Cord cutting continues to erode the profits from traditional cable packages, and movie theaters see a steep decline in attendance. Moreover, the burgeoning streaming sector remains a challenging arena. Looming ahead is Big Tech, with resources from their successful businesses poised to expand aggressively into entertainment.

In other words, media and entertainment need to consolidate because their survival is in danger — that is, unless you want Amazon, Apple or tech-heavy streaming giant Netflix owning the entire viewing world (how’s that for antitrust).

The fact is, combining smaller companies like Paramount and Warner is the test case for survival in a business where Big Media and Entertainment are hobbled by balance sheets impaired by debt and lack of scale.

Or as one top media executive — a longtime Democrat — put it: “If this one guy [Bonta] can stop a deal like this, it’s game over for the industry. Why would we support this?”

Wary of far-left tilt

Granted, I haven’t conducted a proper survey on this thesis with scientific markers and percentage-point margins of error. I did, however, put in a bunch of calls to reliable sources who know this terrain well. What they tell me is that the typical media executive isn’t the DSA voter Bonta seems to be appealing to. These are people who would be comfortable with Bill (or Hillary) Clinton, and Barack Obama when he indulged the centrist side of his ID.

The sources are progressive mainly around social issues, don’t mind paying some of those high taxes to live in Cali, but are growing wary of the far-left tilt of the party. The homeless situation in LA and other California cities is a factor. The inept governance of politicians like LA Mayor Karen Bass is another. On top of it all, lower-cost venues without endless homeless encampments are offering incentives to shoot movies on their turf.

Yes, the insiders’ biggest concerns involve economics. And now a bunch of emerging lefty Dem pols like Bonta are acting purely politically, seemingly clueless about one of the state’s biggest businesses, employing some 700,000 people and producing $70 billion in tax revenues each year.

The pure- politics worry from the Hollywood C-suite comes from its legal counsel, who see no merit — like zero —  in Bonta’s claim that consumers will be screwed by the merging of these companies and that by breaking up the merger,  jobs somehow will be preserved.

Without consolidation, the Warner studio faces uncertainty given its debt load and lack of scale. Ditto for Paramount unless David Ellison can convince his dad to keep feeding his ambitions because its core business is even more troubled than WBD’s.

They all believe Bonta wants to be governor, sees his opening in the state’s progressive wing, and is ­using the case to gain name recognition — and do a little Trump bashing because of Larry Ellison’s friendship with the president.

As they’ve pointed out, the lawsuit puts Bonta and his team of recalcitrants, which includes NY AG Tish James, to the left of the European Union and the UK regulatory apparatus, some of the least deal-friendly types on the planet.

And they’re making their voices heard. That’s why you hear current California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the frontrunner to replace him, Xavier Becerra, calling for Bonta to enter settlement talks. That’s why all these folks, albeit quietly, are supporting David Ellison’s threat to take Paramount out of California to a place that actually wants the industry to survive, unless Bonta gets reasonable and drops his demands for spinning off vast pieces of Warner as the cost of doing a deal.

The bet in Hollywood is that pressure on Bonta will prevail and there will be a settlement. Still, if you’re playing Kalshi or Polymarket on this one, also remember that this isn’t Clinton’s or Obama’s Democratic Party.