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Day: April 20, 2026
This Japanese-American chain’s biggest location is five times larger than its standard footprint, with other restaurants, a waterfall, and even a pond included.
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By year’s end, odds are we’ll be crowning Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge as the MVPs yet again. To this point, though, neither player has been his team’s best hitter. Ohtani is flashing his two-way prowess with a dominant 0.50 ERA and a respectable .915 OPS, but another Dodgers teammate leads MLB in hits and batting average and is well ahead of him in every slash-line category. Judge, meanwhile, is pacing the Yankees with nine home runs, but another Bronx Bomber has the highest OPS in MLB. So, who is every team’s early MVP? We’ll take a look as part of this week’s power rankings: We might have a new poster boy for three true outcomes: Munetaka Murakami is tied for the third-most homers in MLB and also has the fourth-highest walk rate and 11th highest strikeout rate. Hunter Goodman looks poised for another 30-plus homer season, but the bigger story is what Antonio Senzatela is doing in a new long relief role on the mound. The veteran righty allowed his first run of the season Sunday, but he also picked up the win and now sports a 0.63 ERA in six appearances (14.1 innings) while throwing harder than ever before. Perhaps lost among the shocking disasters around the league, the Royals have now lost seven straight games and have scored the fewest runs in MLB. Michael Wacha (1.00 ERA) and Seth Lugo (1.48) are doing their part on the mound to try to give their team a chance, though. Woof. The losing streak is up to 11. Since 2020, 11 other teams have lost 11 straight games at some point in a season; none of them made the playoffs. The Mets can’t seem to score runs with Juan Soto sidelined, but at least they have a chance to win every time Nolan McLean pitches. He has the lowest WHIP of any qualified National League pitcher and, as expected, looks like an early Rookie of the Year contender. If I told you Yordan Alvarez was leading MLB in home runs and fWAR, you’d probably assume the Astros were doing quite well. And you would assume incorrectly. They have two wins in their last 14 games — both against the Rockies, who also swept them during that stretch — and their pitchers have a 6.11 ERA. Yikes. The pitching is, as expected, a problem. The offense, however, offers plenty of intrigue. CJ Abrams, who has nearly doubled both his walk rate and barrel rate in the early going, ranks fourth among all qualified hitters in OPS. As a team, the Nationals are tied for second in runs scored with the Dodgers and Astros, just one run behind the Braves. With Logan Webb, Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle all sporting ERAs over 5.00, the early work from Landen Roupp (2.38) has been needed in the Giants’ scuffling rotation. Roupp hasn’t allowed a home run, or even a barreled ball, through four starts. The Blue Jays rank in the bottom 10 in MLB in runs per game, which certainly wasn’t expected after they ranked fourth in the category last season. It could be a lot worse if it weren’t for Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease, who get co-early-season-MVP honors here. The Blue Jays are 5-4 in games in which they’ve started, and they’ve held the depleted Toronto rotation afloat. Among MLB pitchers who’ve thrown at least 20 innings, Cease is third in strikeout rate while Gausman is third in strikeout-to-walk percentage. As bad as it has been overall in Boston, Willson Contreras is giving the Red Sox everything they’ve needed at first base. As a team, Boston first basemen last year ranked 27th in fWAR and 26th in wRC+. With Contreras this year, they rank in the top five in both categories at the position. MLB’s shortstop leader in fWAR? Nope, not Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson or Elly De La Cruz. It’s Miami’s Otto Lopez, who’s hitting .338, the best mark of any player at his position. They have the worst run differential (-38) in all of MLB. No, not a typo. Yes, hard to believe. They’ve now lost five straight games and nine of 11, and they scored three runs total while getting swept by the Braves over the weekend. At least they have Cristopher Sánchez, who started three of the team’s eight wins and hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his five starts. I would like to use this section to rave about Mike Trout, who leads all qualified AL center fielders in OPS as he turns back the clock to start the year… but this spot might need to be reserved for the Angels’ early Cy Young contender. José Soriano is 5-0 with a ridiculous 0.28 ERA. The Twins’ trade for 25-year-old right-hander Taj Bradley at last year’s deadline is looking like a huge win, especially with Pablo López out for the year. Bradley is 3-0 with a 1.63 ERA through five starts; Griffin Jax, the player Bradley was traded for, has a 7.04 ERA in Tampa Bay. On a team with so much offensive firepower, Shea Langeliers can sometimes get lost in the shuffle. But he has been the A’s best hitter this year, and he leads all catchers with six homers, including a 467-foot blast that is the longest by any player in MLB this year. (Marvel at it here.) Jeremiah Jackson is slashing .303/.319/.561 with five homers despite walking just once with a chase rate over 40%. It may not be sustainable, but considering the injuries around the Baltimore infield, his production to this point has been vital. The other contender for the early-season honor is Taylor Ward, who hasn’t provided the power many expected (he hit his first home run of the year Sunday) but leads MLB in doubles and has a career-high .388 on-base percentage. The Rangers have to be feeling good about their one-for-one swap of Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien. Nimmo has been the Rangers’ best hitter (.311/.386/.522), while Semien has played at a replacement level so far in Queens. Bryan Woo has looked the part of an ace with a 2.25 ERA through five starts, but the bigger story in the Mariners’ rotation is Emerson Hancock. With the help of his sweeper, it seems to all be coming together for the 26-year-old, who’s 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA and tied for the second-lowest WHIP (0.76) among all qualified MLB starters. The Rays rank 10th in OPS, thanks in large part to Yandy Díaz. He has the second-highest wRC+ of any qualified DH in MLB behind only Yordan Alvarez and is tied for the second-most hits of any player in baseball behind only Andy Pages. The early-season MVP award in Detroit can be split between arguably the best pitcher (Tarik Skubal) and rookie (Kevin McGonigle) in MLB. But it’s also worth giving some attention to Dillon Dingler, who has been tearing the cover off the baseball and leads all qualified catchers in OPS. They’ve been arguably the most surprising team in baseball this year, and the breakout appears to be here for 23-year-old Jordan Walker. He ranks first among position players in bWAR and is tied for third in MLB in home runs and fifth in OPS. After a slow start, the Cubs are starting to kick into gear. Only two teams — the Braves and Dodgers — have a better run differential than them. That may not be a surprise, but Nico Hoerner being the Cubs’ best hitter certainly is; he’s tied for the MLB lead with 21 RBI, and he already has three home runs after hitting just seven each of the past two seasons. Sal Stewart leads all National League rookies in hits, homers, RBI and slugging. In a rookie class loaded with talent, Stewart and Mets pitcher Nolan McLean currently look like the best in the NL. The answer is always Jose Ramírez, who’s back to doing his thing after a slow start, but Parker Messick needs a mention. He’s 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA, and he had to earn those numbers. His four starts — all of which ended in Guardians wins — came against the Dodgers, Cubs, Braves and Orioles. He’s emerging as a sneaky AL Rookie of the Year contender. Brandon Lowe leads all MLB second basemen with seven home runs and a .600 slugging percentage and leads his new team with a .975 OPS. There was some fear that Corbin Carroll might not look the same after returning from a broken hamate bone in the spring; instead, he has been even better than usual, slashing .300/.390/.600. Carroll ranks eighth in MLB in OPS and leads the league in triples. While Jacob Misiorowski continues to rack up strikeouts — he leads MLB in the category — the most valuable player on the team is WBC standout Brice Turang. With four homers and the sixth-highest OPS in MLB, Turang is demonstrating he’s a lot more than a Platinum Glove defender. The best hitter in baseball so far this year is a Yankee, but it’s not the one you might think. Ben Rice leads all qualified hitters in on-base percentage (.476), slugging (.800), OPS (1.276) and wRC+ (246). Meanwhile, on the mound, Cam Schlittler leads all AL starters in K/BB% and fWAR. It takes a lot for a closer to be singled out on this list, but Mason Miller is deserving — 11 appearances, two hits, no runs, 27 strikeouts, two walks. Just absurd stuff. He’s 8-for-8 in save chances and, at this overpowering pace, could end up getting Cy Young consideration. Matt Olson leads the Braves in on-base percentage, slugging and OPS and has more doubles (10 total) than any first baseman in MLB. Shohei Ohtani has a 0.50 ERA and a 51-game on-base streak that is the third-longest in franchise history, but he’s not the team leader in WAR. That honor belongs to Andy Pages, who leads MLB in hits and batting average and ranks third in OPS.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
Craving spice? The Spicy Chick-fil-A Cool Wrap is a hidden menu gem. We investigate why fans crave it and why it’s totally worth the search.
Food Republic – Restaurants, Reviews, Recipes, Cooking Tips
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There’s more going on with Taylor Frankie Paul than the personal, professional, and legal upheaval.
The controversial The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star has recently opened up about her mental health.
In the past, she has described symptoms — like panic attacks and dissociation.
Now, she’s sharing her diagnosis. Under the circumstances, it makes a lot of sense.
She’s had at least part of her diagnosis for about two years
On Sunday, April 19, Taylor took to her Instagram Story to divulge her diagnosis.
“I was diagnosed with PTSD about two years ago,” the The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star revealed.
“Which,” she continued, “I assume is now C-PTSD.”
Taylor added: “By more than one therapist,” she clarified, “for all those that assumed diagnoses.”
(It’s possible that she’s specifically trying to head off people who might accuse her of self-diagnosis, or those who might simply dispute the diagnosis offered from one therapist.)
PTSD is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This anxiety disorder can impact anyone from rescue workers to soldiers, but is perhaps more common to people who experience violence and other trauma in a civilian capacity.
The “C” in C-PTSD stands for “complex.” However, some remember the diagnosis’ meaning by thinking of it as “chronic.”
C-PTSD stems from repeated exposure to the same or similar trauma — particularly when it seems inescapable.
Someone who survives a mass shooting might develop PTSD. Someone who endures years of abuse from a parent or a partner might develop C-PTSD.
Both are the result of coping mechanisms that have evolved to help people survive. But C-PTSD means that trauma has had so much time to rewire how you think and what you expect from the world that it’s, well, pretty complex to treat when you’re no longer in danger.
A major sign has been dissociation
Taylor also shared a clip of clinical psychologist Dr. Vincent Barbieri discussing a tell-tale symptom of C-PTSD: dissociation.
Sometimes misused, dissociation refers to a mental and emotional disconnection from one’s physical surroundings.
This isn’t daydreaming, even if descriptions can be similar. It’s a detachment that people learn, usually subconsciously, in order to cope with trauma.
Barbieri refers to how dissociation is “one of the most characteristic” signs of C-PTSD, even if it is also a symptom of other conditions.
“For anyone that’s dissociated before,” he explains, “it’s this very real experience of, you could be staring at someone and be completely vacant in your eyes because you are not there at all.”
@taylorfrankiepaul If you know me, you know I’m never in the room with us. #secretlivesofmormonwives #dissociation #anxious ♬ The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. 9.6 on Hulu. – secretlivesonhulu
Taylor also shared throwback clips of her own social media posts.
These were TikTok videos and more in which she had displayed what she now recognizes as clear symptoms of C-PTSD.
Dissociation is not always observable externally. Sometimes, even the individual doing it doesn’t notice, or isn’t aware that there’s a term for this.
In a 2025 video, Taylor admitted that she’d spent “a couple minutes” absentmindedly trying to enter her hotel room using her car keys.
Trying it once is an absentminded goof-up. Trying for a prolonged period means that her thoughts had retreated, detached from her activities and surroundings.
Notably, she didn’t point the finger (but perhaps she didn’t feel that she had to)
Despite recent photos of Taylor’s injuries — bruising on her forehead, neck, and arms — which allegedly came from ex Dakota Mortensen, she does not specify the cause of her C-PTSD.
And, truth be told, this diagnosis does not always have one singular cause.
Trauma sometimes leads people into dangerous cycles. Certain types of traumatic experiences can steer people’s lives into, unfortunately, even more danger. Cult survivors might escape only to end up in a toxic marriage, someone abused by a parent could end up with an abusive partner.
We hope that Taylor is getting treatment. Because some of her behavior has not been acceptable, no matter her diagnosis.
Sometimes, the key to correcting your own actions is to understand what has caused them. You can’t really fix certain things without understanding what’s going on.
Taylor Frankie Paul Reveals Mental Health Diagnosis was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
This protein-packed food was pretty easy for the cowboys to cook up as they traveled on the trail. The best part was (and is) its versatility.
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The Cheesecake Factory has a lot going on, and it can be a little overwhelming if it’s your first time dining there. These unspoken rules will help.
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Last week, we reported on the upsetting news that actress Christina Applegate had been hospitalized.
Christina has been battling MS for several years now.
And while she’s shown tremendous courage throughout the process, the disease is a progressive one that usually gets worse with time.
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
And with recent news that her condition appears to be deteriorating rapidly, those closest to Applegate are fearing the worst.
“With every setback, if we are being realistic, everyone has it in the back of their minds that they might not have a tomorrow with her,” a source close to the situation tells Radar Online.
“Christina is a fighter, but her battle with MS has been treacherous. She has better days and really bad days; she doesn’t have great days. She’s always dealing with something. It sucks,” the insider continues, adding:
“But when she does look at things positively it makes her feel better in the moment because she has so many friends that are there for her, even to listen to her, cry with her and anything in between.”
Despite all of the concerns about Christina’s recent downturn, however, her friends say they remain optimistic.
“Nobody is planning to be at a funeral. Granted, her disease will take her sooner than anyone would like it to be, but everyone has trust in her medical team and her will to live,” says the source.
In a recent podcast interview, Christina revealed that she’s mostly confined to bed and that her life is “a living hell.”
“I don’t enjoy living. I don’t enjoy things anymore,” she said. “She’s in rough shape. But people aren’t thinking that this is the end.
Applegate also opened up about the extreme weight loss she’s endured as a result of her illness, noting that she recently lost 50 pounds in a span of just months.
“Sometimes the weight loss bothered me more than the disease,” she said, adding that “everything just dropped off of me” as a result of her treatments.
“Within seven months, all of it was gone, and I was down by 50 pounds or more. These days, my legs are tinier than they’ve ever been,” Christina wrote in her memoir, You With the Sad Eyes.
“The illness has given me serious stomach issues,” she continued, adding:
“As I write this, there are tamales downstairs that are the best tamales you could ever have – I want to eat five of them right now, I’m so hungry – but I know if I do, I’ll probably end up in the ER again, as I have so many times recently.”
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Christina and her family as they continue to battle this terrible illness together.
Christina Applegate ‘Might Not Have a Tomorrow’ Amid Worsening MS Battle: … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
Enjoying ice cream is as easy as pie. That’s almost literally true when it comes to the frozen treat that some lucky shoppers have seen at Costco.
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By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon
An Anchorage mother whose son died from a fentanyl overdose is continuing to champion national and statewide action to raise awareness around the dangers of the synthetic opioid and prevent future deaths.
On Wednesday, Sandy Snodgrass was recognized with a legislative citation of honor at the Alaska State Capitol by Anchorage Democratic Senator Bill Wielechowski for her advocacy work.
In December, Snodgrass attended the signing of a package of legislation, including Bruce’s Law, which directs federal funds toward youth education and community-based treatment and recovery programs. It’s named after her son who died in 2021 and was sponsored by Alaska’s U.S. senators and signed by President Donald Trump.
“This is a different world we live in with fentanyl now,” Snodgrass said in a lunchtime presentation after receiving the award. “We live in a world where one pill, one half pill can kill you. And it’s not a tolerance, you know, it’s one time and you can die.”
Trained as a clinical psychologist, Snodgrass founded the Alaska Fentanyl Response Project aimed at raising awareness about overdose deaths, particularly among young people, sharing stories of those who have died and advocating for legislation and resources for prevention and addiction treatment.
“I talk about it as a three legged stool,” she said. She described demand reduction, law enforcement and treatment as the three legs of the stool. “And if we don’t do all three, the stool will fall over,” she said.
She said her focus is demand reduction. “So I am not law enforcement,” she added. “I don’t have a treatment center. But I did have a child that died from fentanyl poisoning, and so I can tell my story to anybody, anywhere, anytime.”
“You can never die from an illicit drug if you never try an illicit drug,” she said.
Snodgrass’ son, Robert Bruce Snodgrass, died at the age of 22 in 2021, during a wave when Alaska saw the highest increase in opioid deaths nationwide, a 75% increase from 2020 to 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, clinically prescribed for pain, and is more potent than other opioids like morphine or heroin. As little as two milligrams — an amount the size of a few grains of salt — can be fatal.
The Alaska wave of fentanyl deaths peaked in 2023, according to state data, with 357 reported deaths. Last year, there were 245 deaths reported from 2024 to 2025, according to the most recently available data, with the majority in Anchorage.
Thousands more non-fatal overdoses were reported each month, with many surviving thanks to the use of emergency naloxone, known as Narcan, a life-saving drug that can quickly reverse an opioid overdose.
She said it’s a difficult message to convey the risks to young people, like her son.
“Bruce was an Alaskan boy, through and through — all the Alaskan things. He was a free solo mountain climber. He was a certified mountain guide. He was an extreme sport, high adrenaline young man, just like so many of our Alaskan boys and girls, he lived on the edge and loved it,” she said.
She said she thought she’d get a call about him being injured in some kind of rock climbing accident. “That’s not the call I got. He was safe out there. He was not safe less than a mile away from our home in Anchorage,” she said.
Snodgrass said she’s glad to see law enforcement investigating more fentanyl overdose deaths as drug induced homicides, and recent legislative action to increase criminal penalties to second degree murder. But she said she recognizes it can be accidental.
“That guy, whoever gave my son the drugs, is almost as much a victim as my son is. He likely didn’t know there was fentanyl. He likely didn’t want to kill my son. He did not do it intentionally. But that’s what happened. So I don’t call it ‘accidental overdose,’ I call it poisoning,” she said.
She said she mentioned the idea of fentanyl as a “chemical weapon” and a “weapon of mass destruction” to President Trump when they met in the Oval Office in December — weeks later he issued an executive order designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.
It directs attorneys general to pursue prosecutions of fentanyl sales, including manufacturing, distribution and illicit sale of precursor chemicals, and directs the military and Department of Homeland Security to consider fentanyl in its response to chemical incidents and to conduct counter-fentanyl operations.
Snodgrass cited estimates of hundreds of people dying across the U.S. every day from overdoses. An August 2025 estimate by the CDC showed 77,648 drug overdose deaths occurred in the 12 months ending in March 2025. Fentanyl remains the leading cause of overdose deaths.
“We’ve got to change that,” she said. “It’s as if a jet airliner, a jumbo jet airliner, was crashing in this country every single day, day after day after day.”
Snodgrass said she’s especially focused on doing more school presentations and raising awareness in rural Alaska, which she said drug dealers target for the high retail prices for fentanyl.
“When this reached my son in Anchorage, I was shocked, and the fact that it’s now reaching our rural communities to the extent that it is, is shocking,” she said, citing recent deaths in Nome, Dillingham and Togiak.
“I could not get over the statistics in Togiak of the number of seizures that the DEA was making, 3,000 pills at a time in a backpack on a plane to Togiak. Togiak has 800 people in it. It just was terrifying to me,” she said.
“It devastates the community to lose even one person. And so the numbers coming out of those rural communities are terrifying. They’re horrible, and it just keeps happening,” she said.
Snodgrass said she’s supportive of Senate Bill 288, sponsored by Sen. George Raucher, R-Sutton, that would require opioid abuse and prevention curriculum for students in grades 6 through 12, during an annual drug awareness week known as Red Ribbon Week. It’s currently being considered by the Senate Education Committee.
“They’re innocuous little pills, unless someone tells you that pill is going to kill you, or could potentially kill you,” Snodgrass said. “It’s a little blue pill, and it looks harmless, and you may take it to change the way you feel. That’s all they’re doing. And so the only thing I can do as one person is keep telling that story over and over and over again, and so that’s what I’m here to do.”