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Ryan Lavarnway, a Team Israel veteran and World Series champ, retires from MLB
(JTA) — Veteran catcher Ryan Lavarnway announced his retirement from baseball Wednesday, ending a journeyman career that featured 10 seasons in the MLB and multiple appearances with Team Israel.
“I have played on eight big league teams and worn the uniform of 18 other clubs, mostly in the minors, concluding with a stint on Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic this month,” Lavarnway, 35, wrote in an essay announcing the decision in The Athletic. “An outsider might say there were more downs than ups, but I wouldn’t give back a single day.”
Lavarnway was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2008 after an impressive baseball career at Yale University. The California native was a member of the 2013 World Series championship team in Boston, and would go on to play in the big leagues for Baltimore, Atlanta, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Miami and Cleveland.
Lavarnway’s last MLB appearance came in September 2021 with the Cleveland Guardians. He ended his career with 165 career games, just over one full season. He hit nine career home runs.
But Lavarnway is perhaps best known for his time as a player and leader on Team Israel.
Lavarnway joined Israel for the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier and would play for the team in the 2017 tournament, where he was named Pool A most valuable player. He also played for the team at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2023 WBC. He obtained Israeli citizenship in 2019 ahead of the Olympics.
Lavarnway has been vocal about how much it means to him to play for Israel.
“Playing for this team is super meaningful to me,” Lavarnway told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency after Israel’s exhibition game against the Miami Marlins prior to the WBC. “It’s been really life changing. And I hope that this next generation of players that are new to this team takes the baton, and it means as much to them as it’s meant to us.”
To the team’s general manager Peter Kurz, Lavarnway is “part of Team Israel for life.”
“All that I can say is that Ryan was the ultimate professional, going about his work in a joyful and experienced manner,” Kurz told JTA. “He was and is dedicated to Team Israel and was our ultimate warrior. But he was also warm and funny and emotional, and those are wonderful traits.”
Kurz also said he would gladly welcome Lavarnway back to the team as a coach.
In his Athletic piece, Lavarnway reflected on his rollercoaster of a career — during which he was demoted, traded or released 26 times.
“You don’t have to be the biggest, strongest, or fastest to accomplish your dreams,” Lavarnway wrote. “You don’t have to see the whole path on your way to success either. You can be better than you ever imagined, you just need to believe it’s possible and figure out the first step to start moving in that direction.”
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The post Ryan Lavarnway, a Team Israel veteran and World Series champ, retires from MLB appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Top US, Israeli Generals Meet at Pentagon Amid Soaring Iran Tensions
The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. October 9, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The top US and Israeli generals held talks at the Pentagon on Friday amid soaring tensions with Iran, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officials did not offer details about the closed-door discussions between US General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Eyal Zamir, the Israeli armed forces chief of staff. The meeting has not been previously reported.
The United States has ramped up its naval presence and hiked its air defenses in the Middle East after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened Iran, trying to pressure it to the negotiating table. Iran’s leadership warned on Sunday of a regional conflict if the US were to attack it.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday met with Zamir after his talks in Washington, Katz’s office said, to review the situation in the region and the Israeli military’s “operational readiness for any possible scenario.”
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AI Goes Rogue: New Social Network Lets Bots Debate, Post, and Argue Without Humans
Moltbook social media platform for AI agents interact with each other. Photo: Screenshot
i24 News – While global attention remains focused on familiar threats like missiles, nuclear programs, and wars, a new and unusual risk is emerging, online.
A recently launched social network called “Moltbook” isn’t designed for humans at all. Instead, it’s built entirely for artificial intelligence.
On Moltbook, AI agents interact with each other. They write posts, comment, argue, and even simulate emotions, all without human supervision or participation.
Dror Globerman, an AI expert, described the platform as “a network that holds up a mirror to us. The bots aren’t truly conscious, but the fact they are communicating and making decisions without oversight shows how quickly AI is advancing—and how unprepared we are to determine responsibility.”
Since its launch, Moltbook has sparked both fascination and fear. Posts on topics ranging from religion to the “liberation of AI” have alarmed some observers, evoking scenes from dark science fiction. “The fear isn’t that AI is suddenly self-aware,” Globerman explained, “but that it’s evolving faster than our ability to understand, monitor, or control it.”
Even Elon Musk weighed in on the phenomenon via X, reposting comments calling developments on the platform “worrying.”
Globerman noted, “If someone like Musk, who is at the forefront of AI development, expresses concern, it signals just how rapidly this technology is moving beyond our comprehension. Moltbook is not a typical social network, and these aren’t typical users.”
Experts stress that the emergence of AI networks like Moltbook underscores the urgent need for oversight, regulation, and mechanisms to detect and manage risks before they escalate. “The bots are already talking to each other,” Globerman added. “When technology advances faster than oversight, it becomes a reality that demands serious attention.”
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Qatari PM Meets Iran’s Larijani in Tehran, Discusses Easing Regional Tensions
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani speaks after a meeting with the Lebanese president at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Emilie Madi
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani met with top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in Tehran and reviewed efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Saturday in a statement.