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  • 17 hurt in knife attack at German train station; woman arrested

    17 hurt in knife attack at German train station; woman arrested



    BERLIN — A stabbing attack at the busy central train station in the German city of Hamburg left multiple people injured, some of them in life-threatening condition, authorities said. A woman was arrested as the suspect.

    The attacker targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14 in the station at around 6 p.m., according to police. The station in downtown Hamburg, Germany’s second-biggest city, is a major hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.

    Late Friday evening, Hamburg’s fire service said that 17 people in total were hurt — four of them with life-threatening injuries. Six others had serious injuries, and the remaining seven had light injuries, German news agency dpa reported.

    Police said that a 39-year-old woman, a German national, was arrested at the scene without putting up resistance and that they believe after watching video footage that she acted alone. They secured the knife.

    There was no immediate indication of any political motive, and investigators were looking into whether the suspect may have been mentally ill, police spokesperson Florian Abbenseth said.

    A high-speed ICE train with its doors open was still at the platform hours after the attack, but Abbenseth said that it was not a crime scene.

    Railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was “deeply shocked” by the attack. Four tracks at the station were closed Friday evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted.

    Carrying weapons, including knives, is banned at the station and on local transport in Hamburg.

    Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s office said the German leader was appalled by the news, and told Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher in a call Friday evening said that “my thoughts are with the victims and their relatives.”



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  • Why Trump’s iPhone tariff threat might not be enough to bring production to the U.S.

    Why Trump’s iPhone tariff threat might not be enough to bring production to the U.S.



    The once-solid relationship between President Donald Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook is breaking down over the idea of a U.S.-made iPhone.

    Last week, Trump said he “had a little problem with Tim Cook,” and on Friday, he threatened to slap a 25% tariff on iPhones in a social media post.

    Trump is upset with Apple’s plan to source the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. from its factory partners in India, instead of China. Cook confirmed this plan earlier this month during earnings discussions.

    Trump wants Apple to build iPhones for the U.S. market in the U.S. and has continued to pressure the company and Cook.

    “I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday.

    Analysts said it would probably make more sense for Apple to eat the cost rather than move production stateside.

    “In terms of profitability, it’s way better for Apple to take the hit of a 25% tariff on iPhones sold in the US market than to move iPhone assembly lines back to US,” Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote on X.

    UBS analyst David Vogt said that the potential 25% tariffs were a “jarring headline” but that they would only be a “modest headwind” to Apple’s earnings, dropping annual earnings by 51 cents per share, versus a prior expectation of 34 cents per share under the current tariff landscape.

    Experts have long held that a U.S.-made iPhone is impossible at worst and highly expensive at best.

    Analysts have said that iPhones made in the U.S. would be much more expensive, CNBC previously reported, with some estimates ranging between $1,500 and $3,500 to buy one at retail. Labor costs would certainly rise.

    But it would also be logistically complicated.

    Supply chains and factories take years to build out, including installing equipment and staffing up. Parts that Apple imported to the United States for assembly might be subject to tariffs as well.

    Apple started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017 but it was only in recent years that the region was capable of building Apple’s latest devices.

    “We believe the concept of Apple producing iPhones in the US is a fairy tale that is not feasible,” wrote Wedbush analyst Dan Ives in a note on Friday.

    Other analysts were wary about predicting how Trump’s threat ultimately plays out. Apple might be able to strike a deal with the administration — despite the eroding relationship — or challenge the tariffs in court.

    For now, most of Apple’s most important products are exempt from tariffs after Trump gave phones and computers a tariff waiver — even from China — in April, but Apple doesn’t know how the Trump administration’s tariffs will ultimately play out beyond June.

    “We’re skeptical” that the 25% tariff will materialize, wrote Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers.

    He wrote that Apple could try to preserve its roughly 41% gross margin on iPhones by raising prices in the U.S. by between $100 and $300 per phone.

    It’s unclear how Trump intends to target Apple’s India-made iPhones. Rakers wrote that the administration could put specific tariffs on phone imports from India.

    Apple’s operations in India continue to expand.

    Foxconn, which assembles iPhones for Apple, is building a new $1.5 billion factory in India that could do some iPhone production, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

    Apple declined to comment on Trump’s post.



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  • 1-vote victory for Trump’s big bill inflames Democratic clash over aging leaders

    1-vote victory for Trump’s big bill inflames Democratic clash over aging leaders



    WASHINGTON — When House Republicans passed President Donald Trump’s multitrillion-dollar tax and spending package on a party-line vote of 215-214, some Democrats couldn’t help but notice that three safe blue seats in their ranks were empty after those lawmakers recently died in their 70s.

    “Imagine if one of the older and sicker Dems would’ve retired instead of died in office and what that would’ve meant for millions of people,” Rebecca Katz, a consultant who has advised successful Democratic Senate candidates in two swing states over the last three years, said on X.

    Even as some Democrats conceded the GOP bill may ultimately have passed anyway, the moment quickly reignited an intraparty debate about gerontocracy and aging politicians clinging to power — or seeking promotions — while they show signs of decline or battle grave health issues. The clash has been fueled by an ongoing reckoning over then-President Joe Biden’s 2023 decision to run for re-election before dropping out after a disastrous June 2024 debate in which the 81-year-old incumbent struggled to craft sentences.

    The cascade of events has bolstered a generational argument, once limited to a narrow group of young progressives, that is now gaining traction inside the Democratic Party, including among seasoned party operatives who say the sentiment is growing.

    “You get accused of ageism when you start having this conversation sometimes. But it’s like, look at an actuarial table,” said Mike Nellis, a veteran Democratic strategist who has worked as an adviser to former Vice President Kamala Harris. “It is a fair criticism to say that we need people to walk away. We need people to know when it’s your moment to go off into the sunset.”

    “And no, the debate is not going to go away,” he said.

    The clash is even evident inside the ranks of the Democratic National Committee in the form of recently elected Vice Chair David Hogg, a prominent 25-year-old gun safety activist who has called for challenging “out-of-touch” and “ineffective” lawmakers through primaries in solidly Democratic seats.

    “We have empowered the cruelty of Republicans and handed them an expanded majority because elderly Democratic leaders refused to step down. It is unconscionable,” Hogg told NBC News. “Politicians only respond to incentives. That means we need to create a set of dynamics where they decide it is in their best interests to retire, and that includes primaries.”

    Two Republicans missed the vote early Thursday — and if they had voted, three additional Democratic “no” votes could have fought it to a tie, blocking the bill, at least at that moment. The GOP would have had to win the votes of one member who voted “present” or flip one of the two who voted “no” on the bill.

    Hogg speculated that Republicans would probably “have figured out a way to pass it if it failed” due to a tie vote. But he said that’s no excuse for Democrats to make their task easier.

    “It is undeniable, though, that with less Democratic members it gives Trump greater ability to pass what he wants through Congress. And this never had to happen,” Hogg said, adding that it is “unacceptable” when Democrats spend tens of millions of dollars to win swing districts but do “nothing to get sick, older members to step down, and then we lose seats because of it.”

    One of the three vacancies was the Virginia seat formerly held by Rep. Gerry Connolly, who announced two days after winning re-election in November 2024 that he had been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus; he was soon chosen by Democrats to be the ranking member on the Oversight Committee. He died on May 21 at age 75. Another was Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., who died at 77 two months ago after treatment for lung cancer, a diagnosis he announced in April 2024, before winning re-election for the final time. The third was Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, who died of a medical emergency in March at 70, after previously battling bone cancer.

    “The fact that the margin was so close makes this so frustrating. Millions of people are going to lose their health care,” said Amanda Litman, the president of the group Run for Something and author of “When We’re in Charge: The Next Generation’s Guide to Leadership.”

    Litman and others note that they aren’t calling for lawmakers to be automatically thrown out after a certain age, but they do want to see them face challenges and external pressure to prove why they should keep serving.

    “We are protecting a system that has privileged seniority and entitlement over efficacy,” she said, adding: “The system that protected Joe Biden and the system that protects our elected officials in Congress is the same one,” describing it as a mix of politicians’ egos and the acquiescence of staffers and party operatives who should know better.

    Litman responded to critics who say Democrats should focus on blaming Republicans rather than turning their anger within, saying that Biden’s re-election effort and the issues in the House taught her the party won’t evolve without pressure.

    “This conversation has to happen in public, because we’ve now seen it’s not happening in private,” she said.

    Ashwani Jain, a 35-year-old former Obama administration official and unsuccessful 2024 House candidate, said the Democratic Party is “too focused on protecting the old guard — propping up aging politicians while sidelining the next generation of leaders.”

    “The establishment clings to a model that prioritizes seniority, fundraising and insider connections over fresh ideas and grassroots energy,” said Jain, who wrote the new book “Project 2027: A Progressive Blueprint to Reclaim Congress and Protect Democracy.”

    “It’s not about ageism — it’s about urgency,” he said.

    Another factor driving the conversation is the widespread belief in both parties that House majorities are likely to be narrow for the foreseeable future, which means that every seat can have national consequences.

    “Members often continue to run for the right reasons — there’s always unfinished business in public service — but continuing to run with major illnesses leads to painful ends to otherwise accomplished careers,” said Ashley Schapitl, a former top communicator for Democratic senators and the Treasury Department. “Congressional margins have been tight since the 2020 election, making every seat count more than in previous years in determining the outcomes of legislative fights that have monumental consequences for the American people.”

    Nellis said aging politicians eventually become “out of step culturally” and, in refusing to step down, are “preventing future leaders from stepping up, and it creates a cascading problem” by freezing opportunities down the ladder. He said generational change would also mitigate the party’s political struggles to communicate in the modern media.

    “We have a lot of leaders who are very smart, care passionately about the issues, but they can’t go do the media the way that we need them to,” Nellis said. “And right now what I need is a lot more politicians that can sit on the podcast for three hours and talk about a bunch of issues and get into weird, goofy personal stuff and sit with Joe Rogan. And I don’t have a lot of those.”

    It isn’t just politicians, he added.

    “There’s a generational change problem throughout the Democratic Party,” Nellis said, calling for new consultants, campaign managers, communicators and surrogates, in addition to new legislators. “So that generation change — it is actively happening inside the Democratic Party at every level.”



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  • Trump clears Nippon merger with U.S. Steel

    Trump clears Nippon merger with U.S. Steel



    President Donald Trump on Friday cleared the merger of U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel, after the Japanese steelmaker’s previous bid to acquire its U.S. rival had been blocked on national security grounds.

    “This will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which will create at least 70,000 jobs, and add $14 Billion Dollars to the U.S. Economy,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

    U.S. Steel’s headquarters will remain in Pittsburgh and the bulk of the investment will take place over the next 14 months, the president said. U.S. Steel shares surged more than 20% to close at $52.01 per share after Trump’s announcement.

    President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel from purchasing U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion in January, citing national security concerns. Biden said at the time that the acquisition would create a risk to supply chains that are critical for the U.S.

    Trump, however, ordered a new review of the proposed acquisition in April, directing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to determine “whether further action in this matter may be appropriate.”

    Trump said he would hold a rally at U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh on May 30.



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  • Anthropic adds Claude 4 security measures to limit risk of users developing weapons

    Anthropic adds Claude 4 security measures to limit risk of users developing weapons



    Anthropic on Thursday said it activated a tighter artificial intelligence control for Claude Opus 4, its latest AI model.

    The new AI Safety Level 3 (ASL-3) controls are to “limit the risk of Claude being misused specifically for the development or acquisition of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons,” the company wrote in a blog post.

    The company, which is backed by Amazon, said it was taking the measures as a precaution and that the team had not yet determined if Opus 4 has crossed the benchmark that would require that protection.

    Anthropic announced Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4 on Thursday, touting the advanced ability of the models to “analyze thousands of data sources, execute long-running tasks, write human-quality content, and perform complex actions,” per a release.

    The company said Sonnet 4 did not need the tighter controls.



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  • Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump administration to shield DOGE documents

    Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump administration to shield DOGE documents



    WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily allowed the Trump administration to shield Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from freedom of information requests seeking thousands of pages of material.

    Chief Justice John Roberts issued an administrative stay that puts lower court decisions on hold while the Supreme Court considers what next steps to take.

    For now, it means the government will not have to respond to requests for documents and allow for the deposition of the DOGE administrator, Amy Gleason, as a lower court had ruled.

    At issue in the ongoing litigation is whether DOGE, which has played a key role in firing government workers and cutting federal grants and spending, is technically a government agency and therefore subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which allows members of the public to seek internal documents.

    The Trump administration says that, despite its name, DOGE is merely a presidential advisory body that is not subject to public records requests under FOIA.

    Further complicating matters, when DOGE was set up, it effectively took the place of a previous government entity called the U.S. Digital Service. The Trump administration now refers to the body as the U.S. DOGE Service, or USDS.

    The case arose when watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) brought a freedom of information request in January soon after Trump took office seeking information about DOGE. CREW later filed suit.

    In March, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington ruled DOGE is “likely” covered by FOIA and that “the public would be irreparably harmed by an indefinite delay in unearthing the records CREW seeks.”

    Cooper ordered DOGE to process CREW’s several FOIA requests for information on an “expedited timetable” and to begin producing documents on a rolling basis “as soon as practicable.” The court also ordered the government to preserve “all records” that may be responsive to CREW’s FOIA requests.

    In addition to the more than 100,000 documents the Office of Management and Budget has that are responsive to the FOIA request ordered by Cooper, DOGE itself said it has approximately 58,000 documents responsive to the request.

    The documents in question all relate back to the question of whether DOGE is a government agency.

    CREW’s lawyers said in court papers said that Cooper had merely issued a “narrowly-tailored discovery order” to ascertain whether DOGE is a federal agency. The Supreme Court, they added, “rarely intervenes in ongoing discovery disputes” and there was “no basis for such extraordinary intervention here.”



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  • What to know on normal pressure hydrocephalus as Billy Joel cancels tour

    What to know on normal pressure hydrocephalus as Billy Joel cancels tour



    The brain disorder that forced Billy Joel to cancel his concert tour can cause trouble walking and thinking straight — but is often treatable and can even be reversed, doctors said.

    A post on the 76-year-old singer’s Instagram on Friday said that he was recently diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus and that concert performances exacerbated problems with his “hearing, vision, and balance.”

    The condition is relatively rare, according to the Cleveland Clinic, affecting “about 5.9% of people over 80.”

    It’s most commonly diagnosed in older adults, usually showing up around age 70.

    What is normal pressure hydrocephalus?

    The human body is constantly trying to keep a steady level of cerebrospinal fluid to cushion the brain and spinal cord, either by making more or absorbing it.

    That fluid tends to take up a little more space in older adults because brain volume shrinks as a normal part of the aging process, said Dr. Wajd Al-Holou, a neurosurgeon at the University of Michigan Health.

    “But what happens in normal pressure hydrocephalus is an abnormal buildup of fluid that causes brain dysfunction because of the pressure it’s putting on the brain,” he said.

    What are the symptoms and how is it diagnosed?

    Patients are often diagnosed after they see a doctor because they — or a family member — are concerned they might be developing dementia, which is also more common as people age.

    Memory loss, bladder control issues and trouble walking are also common. Patients can have trouble lifting their feet, putting them at risk for stumbling and falling.

    Doctors generally do brain imaging, either a CT scan or an MRI, Al-Holou said, as well as a variety of neurological testing.

    Doctors may also do what’s called a lumbar puncture to drain the excess fluid. If the person’s symptoms improve, the condition is often diagnosed as normal pressure hydrocephalus, or NPH.

    How is it treated?

    Even though the condition can look like dementia, there’s a key difference: normal pressure hydrocephalus is treatable and in many cases reversible if it’s caught early.

    Commonly, neurosurgeons implant a ventriculoperitoneal shunt into the brain that helps drain the fluid buildup into another part of the body, like the abdomen, where it can be reabsorbed.

    A drug called acetazolamide can also be used, as it may help the body decrease the level of fluid on its own. The medicine doesn’t work for everyone, Al-Holou said.

    It was unclear Friday what kind of treatment Joel would receive. His social media post said that the singer “is undergoing specific physical therapy,” but did not give details.

    That kind of therapy is usually given, doctors said, to help patients regain balance.

    Any treatment is more effective if a diagnosis is made quickly. If the condition goes on too long unchecked, it can lead to permanent brain damage, Al-Holou said.

    If a person seems to be experiencing early signs such as troublesome memory loss and difficulty walking, “they should see a primary care physician or neurologist to investigate further,” he said.





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  • Deaths of twin brothers found on Georgia mountain ruled double suicide

    Deaths of twin brothers found on Georgia mountain ruled double suicide


    The deaths of two 19-year-old twins found fatally shot at the top of a north Georgia mountain in March have been ruled a double suicide, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) announced on Wednesday.

    Qaadir Malik Lewis and Naazir Rahim Lewis were found in Hiawassee, Georgia, at the summit of Bell Mountain on March 8. The twins from Lawrenceville — about 90 miles south of where their bodies were found — had plans to visit their friends in Boston the morning of March 7.

    Twin brothers Qaadir and Naazir Lewis.
    Twin brothers Qaadir and Naazir Lewis.via GoFundMe

    Only Naazir went to the airport the day before their deaths, the GBI investigation found, and he was the only person who had an airline ticket. Naazir did not board the flight and returned home.

    GBI said investigators used cellular location data to establish a timeline of the twins’ movements from their home to Bell Mountain.

    “In the video that corresponds to those locations, the Lewis brothers are seen alone,” the release stated.

    The family previously told NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta that they were unsure how or why the twins were at Bell Mountain, a spot popular with tourists not far from the North Carolina border. The brothers had no clear connection to the place, their family said.

    Forensic evidence showed the Lewis brothers fired a gun, according to the GBI. Records show Naazir purchased ammunition and delivered it to his home on March 5.

    The brothers also made internet searches for how to load a gun, 2024 suicide rates, and other related searches, the agency stated.

    GBI said the investigation will be formally closed in the coming weeks.

    Investigators originally thought the twins’ deaths could be a murder-suicide, a theory their family rejected.

    NBC could not immediately reach the Lewis family.

    “They’re very protective of each other. They love each other,” Rahim Brawner, an uncle, previously told NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta. “They’re, like, inseparable. I couldn’t imagine them hurting each other, because I’ve never seen them get into a fistfight before.”

    The family organized a GoFundMe page for the twins, stating they were looking to hire a private investigator specializing in homicide to look into the brothers’ deaths.

    “We know them. They wouldn’t do anything like this,” their aunt Yasmine Brawner, who co-organized the crowdfunding campaign, told WXIA in March. “To say they did this to each other? No. Something happened in those mountains, and we want answers.”



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  • Georgia O’Connor, U.K. boxer, dies at 25 after saying doctors ‘gaslit’ her on cancer concerns for months

    Georgia O’Connor, U.K. boxer, dies at 25 after saying doctors ‘gaslit’ her on cancer concerns for months



    British professional boxer Georgia O’Connor has died aged 25, her promotion company BOXXER said on Thursday.

    “We are heartbroken by the passing of Georgia O’Connor,” BOXXER said in a statement on X. “A true warrior inside and outside the ring, the boxing community has lost a talented, courageous and determined young woman far too soon.”

    O’Connor’s death comes months after the British boxer shared with fans that she was suffering from cancer.

    “For 17 weeks since the start of October, I’ve been in constant pain, going back and forth between Durham and Newcastle RVI A&E knowing deep down something was seriously wrong,” O’Connor wrote. “I said from the start I felt it was cancer. I KNEW the risks. I have colitis and PSC, two diseases that dramatically increase the chances of getting it. I KNOW how high my risk is and they do too. They always did.”

    O’Connor, who was from Durham, England, did not share what type of cancer she was suffering from.

    In the same January Instagram post, she also accused doctors of taking her concerns seriously.

    “Not one doctor did the scans or blood tests I begged for whilst crying on the floor in agony.Instead, they dismissed me. They gaslit me, told me it was nothing, made me feel like I was overreacting,” she wrote. “They refused to scan me. They refused to investigate. They REFUSED to listen.”

    In February, the 25 year old also shared on Instagram that she suffered from a miscarriage.

    “The last few months have been a rollercoaster,” O’Connor wrote. “I’ve been pregnant with a beautiful baby, suffered a miscarriage, then got diagnosed with ‘incurable’ cancer. But I still feel on top of the world!”

    Last week, the boxer shared with 40,000 Instagram followers that she got married earlier this month. She posted an image of her holding her husband’s hand and wrote: “09.05.2025. The day I married the love of my life.”

    In a separate Instagram post from February, O’Connor said that her then-boyfriend quit his job to support her through cancer.





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  • Pirates GM addresses trade speculation involving ace Paul Skenes

    Pirates GM addresses trade speculation involving ace Paul Skenes



    PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are reeling, and just about everything is on the table for a last-place team that has already fired its manager and packed a half-decade’s worth of public-relations missteps into two months.

    Well, except for one thing: trading ace Paul Skenes.

    Asked on Thursday if flipping the reigning National League Rookie of the Year is a consideration for a club woefully lacking in impactful position-player prospects, general manager Ben Cherington gave an atypically brief response.

    “No, it’s not part of the conversation at all,” Cherington said flatly.

    Pittsburgh entered a four-game series against NL Central rival Milwaukee already 11 games out of playoff position, thanks in large part to an offense that ranks last or next-to-last in nearly every major category: from runs, slugging percentage and OPS (all 30th) to home runs and batting average (both 29th).

    The Pirates at least showed a small flicker of life at the plate in an 8-5 loss to the Brewers a few hours after Cherington spoke, scoring five runs for the first time in 27 games. Their 26-game streak of four runs or fewer tied a major league record set by four other teams, most recently the then-California Angels in 1969.

    Yet it was telling that Pittsburgh also left 10 runners on base, typical of a season in which the Pirates have consistently been unable to take advantage of what few opportunities they create.

    Not exactly what the team had in mind during spring training, when everyone from Cherington to Skenes to manager Derek Shelton — who was jettisoned two weeks ago and replaced by Don Kelly — talked about the need for Pittsburgh to take another step forward after consecutive 76-86 seasons.

    Instead, the Pirates have been stuck in reverse from opening day, even when Skenes starts. Pittsburgh is just 3-5 in his eight starts, the latest loss a 1-0 setback in Philadelphia last weekend in which Skenes limited the Phillies to three hits while throwing the first complete game of his career.

    Skenes, who turns 23 next week, has been all-in on the Pirates since being called up a year ago. He’s also under team control for the rest of the decade and won’t become arbitration-eligible until after 2026, making him one of the biggest bargains in the majors.

    While Pittsburgh has locked down players like two-time All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to long-term deals, they are a pittance by MLB standards compared to what Skenes might command one day should his career continue on its current trajectory.

    The Pirates are perennially one of the most frugal teams in the majors. Their opening day payroll this season was just under $88 million. Only the Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay, the Athletics and Miami spent less.

    Even so, Pittsburgh has received little return on its investment. While the bullpen has been a bit of a mess, the starting rotation has been solid. Skenes (2.44), Mitch Keller (3.88), Andrew Heaney (2.91) and Bailey Falter (3.50) all have ERAs under 4.00, yet they also have a combined record of 11-21.

    The issue has been a punchless lineup that is largely nondescript outside of Reynolds, franchise icon Andrew McCutchen and center fielder Oneil Cruz.

    Pittsburgh has one of the deeper pools of pitching prospects in the majors — a list that includes hard-throwing 22-year-old Bubba Chandler and Mike Burrows, who gave up four runs over five innings Thursday in his first major league start — but the cupboard of homegrown position players who are on the cusp of the big leagues remains pretty bare five-plus years into Cherington’s tenure.

    Catcher Henry Davis, the top overall pick in the 2021 draft, remains a work in progress nearly two full years after his major league debut. Second baseman Nick Gonzales, a first-rounder in 2020, is recovering from an ankle injury and has yet to establish himself as an everyday player. Former first-round picks Termarr Johnson (2022) and Konnor Griffin (2024) are still years away.

    So far, the only callups from Triple-A have been mostly injury-related, not performance-related.

    “We want guys from Triple-A to pound the door down,” Cherington said. “That would be good. I still think that can happen this year. We want more of it over time. … Everybody knows we’ve got to score more runs. That’s not going to happen just by saying it and hoping for it. You’ve got to do the work to do it.”

    Cherington remains optimistic that the major league team will start to turn the corner over the final 110ish games, and he’s certain Skenes will be a part of it no matter which way it goes.

    “We’ve just got to get better,” Cherington said. “Let’s play better baseball, and that’s going to lead to winning more games. Then, let’s wake up and see where that takes us when we get to July.”



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