title: 2020 World Series

text: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti advised fans not to gather for large celebrations. Nevertheless, many fans took to the streets of Los Angeles, lighting off fireworks and taking over street intersections, in areas such as Pico Boulevard, Broadway and Figueroa Street before being dispersed by police. The day after the World Series, the Dodgers released a statement regarding a public victory parade, stating any celebration would be postponed. In lieu of a rally, the Dodgers set up a drive-through holiday festival event. The event, which was held from November 27 through January 3, featured a light show, LED video displays, fake snow and interactive displays honoring the Dodgers World Championship and celebrating the holidays. When the Dodgers went to go face the Washington Nationals in July 2021, the team visited the White House and President Joe Biden to honor, and celebrate their World Series victory.


title: 2020 World Series

text: Kevin Cash would receive tremendous backlash for his decision to remove Blake Snell after just 73 pitches in the sixth inning of Game 6. Cash defended his decision, stating he did not want Snell going through the Dodgers order a third time, even despite his dominance for innings. Yahoo Sports immediately named it one of the worst decisions in World Series history, while Deadspin called it the third worst in World Series history. FOX Sports post-game analyst and former big leaguer Alex Rodriguez said it was the worst decision he had ever seen in baseball. Upon his removal, opposing manager Dave Roberts said during postgame, "Mookie looked at me with a little smile. We were all just excited that Snell was out of the game." Cash's decision sparked a discussion in whether modern managers were using too much sabermetrics and statistical analysis when making decisions rather than going with their instincts. Some noted that while the decision was controversial, the Rays offense had only scored one run and the Dodgers, who hit starters remarkably better the third time through the order, had not been shut out all season. Cash had also managed his starters with a short leash the whole season. In a similar move, Cash pulled Charlie Morton from Game 7 of the ALCS at 66 pitches, even though Morton only allowed 2 hits and no runs through for .


title: 2020 World Series

text: Following their series loss, Tampa Bay placed Blake Snell on the trade block and later sent him to the San Diego Padres for a major-league catcher and three minor-league prospects. Veteran pitcher Charlie Morton signed with the Atlanta Braves as a free agent after his club option was declined. Morton would win a World Series with Atlanta the next season, which was the second of his career.


title: 2020 World Series

text: A film based on Randy Arozarena's life is currently scheduled to be released between 2022 and 2023. Arozarena broke the record for home runs in a single postseason with ten, including three home runs in the World Series.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: Founded by Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić in 2008 as a split from the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), the SNS served in opposition to the Democratic Party (DS) for the next several years. Running on an anti-corruption platform, it managed a strong performance in the 2009 Belgrade local elections, and in the same year, became the strongest opposition party. After signing a cooperation agreement with New Serbia (NS), the Movement of Socialists (PS), and the Strength of Serbia Movement (PSS), it organized protests in 2011, demanding early parliamentary elections. General elections were called for May 2012, in which SNS won 25% of the popular vote, while Nikolić was elected president. SNS formed a government with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the United Regions of Serbia (URS), with Vučić serving as the first deputy prime minister. After accusing businessman Miroslav Mišković of corruption and arresting him, Vučić called for early parliamentary elections to be held in March 2014. SNS campaigned on an anti-corruption platform while criticizing its opponents, which led to SNS winning 158 out of 250 seats in the National Assembly. Vučić was elected prime minister after the election, while Siniša Mali was elected mayor of Belgrade after the 2014 City Assembly election. The first major anti-government protests under the SNS took place in 2015, in which demonstrators called for the termination of the Belgrade Waterfront, an urban development project headed by the Government.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: Another early parliamentary election was called for April 2016; the SNS campaigned on ensuring economic reforms and supporting the European Union. It won 131 seats in the National Assembly, and 63 out of 120 seats in the provincial election in Vojvodina; Vučić was re-elected prime minister, while Igor Mirović was elected president of the Government of Vojvodina. Vučić was chosen by SNS as its presidential candidate for the 2017 presidential election, in which he won 55% of the popular vote in the first run-off; mass protests were held until his inauguration on 31 May 2017. Ana Brnabić succeeded Vučić as prime minister. Zoran Radojičić replaced Mali as mayor after the March 2018 City Assembly election, while later that year, a series of anti-government protests began; demonstrators demanded more media freedom and an end to political violence. SNS launched a campaign in February 2019 which effectively silenced the protests. The major opposition Alliance for Serbia (SzS) boycotted the 2020 parliamentary election, which led SNS to winning a supermajority of 188 seats; CeSID stated that the election was met with "minimum democratic standards", while OSCE noted the presence of political polarization. Brnabić formed a government with SPS and the Serbian Patriotic Alliance (SPAS); the latter merged into SNS in May 2021. The SNS-led government was faced with environmental protests in 2021 and early 2022, while the constitutional changes that it proposed were voted in favor by a majority of voters in the January 2022 constitutional referendum. In the 2022 Serbian general election, Vučić was re-elected with 60% of the popular vote, while the SNS won 120 seats in the National Assembly; Aleksandar Šapić was elected mayor of Belgrade after the City Assembly election.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: Scholars and political scientists consider the SNS a populist party, with some stating that it does not have a coherent ideology or that populist ideas are integral to its ideological profile. The party is supportive of Serbia's accession to the European Union, although political scientists have noted that its support is rather pragmatic. Scholars and authors have also described the SNS as a catch-all party; some have also positioned it as either a centrist, centre-right, or a right-wing party. SNS is economically neoliberal; it advocates for austerity, privatization, and liberalization of labour laws. Critics have assessed that after it came to power, Serbia has suffered from democratic backsliding into authoritarianism, as well as a decline in media freedom and civil liberties, with the V-Dem Institute categorizing Serbia as an electoral autocracy and Freedom House categorizing it as a hybrid regime. As of 2021, the SNS has at least 800,000 members, and is the largest political party in Europe by membership.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: The conflict between Tomislav Nikolić and Vojislav Šešelj came to light after Nikolić's statement that the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) in the National Assembly would support the Stabilisation and Association Process agreement for the accession of Serbia to the European Union; Nikolić's statement was met with the resistance from Šešelj and his supporters. Nikolić, who was the head of the SRS parliamentary group and a deputy president of the party since 1992, resigned from these posts on 7 September 2008. A day later, Nikolić formed the "Forward, Serbia" parliamentary group with 10 other MPs; five more MPs joined the parliamentary group in the following days. Božidar Delić and Jorgovanka Tabaković, high-ranking members of SRS, were one of the founding members of the parliamentary group.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: On 11 September, Nikolić announced that the "Forward, Serbia" parliamentary group would transform itself into a political party. It was speculated that Aleksandar Vučić, the general-secretary of SRS, would join the newly-formed party; Nikolić later that day confirmed that he would join the party. A day later, SRS dismissed Nikolić and 17 other MPs from the party due to their opposition to Šešelj, while Vučić left SRS on 13 September. Nikolić stated that the newly-formed party would be the party of the "modern right", whilst supporting strengthening relations with the European Union and Russia. On 24 September, Nikolić announced that the party would be called the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). SNS was registered as a political party on 10 October, while the founding convention was held on 21 October, in which a 20-man presidency was presented with Nikolić as the president and Vučić as deputy president. By that period, SNS received support from SRS members, while the SNS parliamentary group sat at 21 MPs.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: In November 2008, SNS called for snap parliamentary elections to be held by October 2009; this proposal was also later supported by Čedomir Jovanović, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Later that month, Vučić stated that SNS would act in opposition to the Democratic Party (DS). SNS opposed the initiative regarding constitutional changes in May 2009, which it described as "frivolous". A month later, SNS took part in local elections in Zemun, a Belgrade municipality known for being the stronghold of SRS; SNS won 34% of the popular vote, while SRS only won 10%. By July 2009, SNS established itself as the strongest opposition party in Serbia. SNS later campaigned and voted against the proposed Media Law, which they described as "anti-democratic". SNS also called for resignation of prime minister Mirko Cvetković in October 2009. It took part in local elections in Voždovac and Kostolac in December 2009; in Voždovac, it won 37% of the popular vote and 26 seats in the Local Assembly, while in Kostolac it won 12% of the popular vote. Following the elections, SNS formed a local government with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and New Serbia (NS) in Voždovac. CeSID, a non-governmental and electoral monitoring organization, argued that the reason behind their electoral success was due to their anti-corruption promises.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: SNS announced in February 2010 that it collected over 500,000 signatures in favor of snap parliamentary elections; a month later, it claimed that the number grew to over a million signatures. After March 2010, SNS claimed that DS "was pulling the country into a deep crisis", and that in response it would hold anti-government protests in Belgrade. SNS declaratively supported the , which condemned the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica, although it abstained the vote in the National Assembly. It announced in December 2010, that it would organize protests in February 2011; NS also stated that it would join the protests. The Government of Serbia stated that it would want to discuss with SNS, although SNS declined the offer. SNS handed over 304,580 signatures in favor of changing the constitution in January 2011. A series of anti-government protests that were organized by SNS began in February 2011. SNS demanded the government to call snap elections by December 2011. Initially it was held in Belgrade, although the protests spread through out other cities in Serbia in March and April 2011. Nikolić went on a hunger strike in mid-April, after demanding president Boris Tadić to call snap parliamentary elections. During a protest in October 2011, its high-party officials occupied the building of . In the National Assembly, SNS sent an initiative to lower the amount of MPs from 250 to 125 after collecting 280,000 signatures in support of the change.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: Back in November 2010, SNS signed a cooperation agreement with NS and two other parties, the Movement of Socialists (PS) and Strength of Serbia Movement (PSS). The parties later held a meeting in February 2011 and took part together in protests that were organized by SNS. The protests played a role in boosting the popularity of SNS, while opinion polls showed that SNS received had support from voters than then-ruling DS. Due to the anti-government protests, President Tadić called for general elections to be held in spring of 2012. In January 2012, it was confirmed that SNS would take part in a joint parliamentary list together with NS, PS, PSS, and eight minor parties and associations. The coalition was later dubbed "Let's Get Serbia Moving". Nikolić was chosen as the presidential candidate of SNS, while Tabaković was chosen as the candidate for prime minister. During the campaign period, SNS criticized DS whilst campaigning on a pro-European platform, as well as promising to "correct the mistakes of DS". Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, met with Nikolić and Vučić during the campaign period in Belgrade in order to consult with them. In the parliamentary election, the SNS-led coalition topped at the first place with 25% of the popular vote and won 73 seats in the National Assembly; SNS itself won 55 seats. Nikolić accused DS of vote fraud; during a press conference he showed a bag with about three thousand ballots that were allegedly thrown into a trash can. In the presidential election, Nikolić ended up in a run-off against President Tadić; Nikolić ended up winning the second run-off. SNS did not receive the highest amount of votes in the provincial and Belgrade City Assembly elections, and was unable to form governments in Vojvodina and Belgrade. Shortly after the presidential election, Nikolić resigned as the president of SNS and was succeeded by Vučić in September 2012; Tabaković was also elected deputy president.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: Nikolić held consultations with parliamentary parties after the election. After the consultations, Ivica Dačić, the leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), was given the mandate to form a government. Dačić reached a deal with SNS and the United Regions of Serbia (URS), and on 27 July the new government was sworn in. Vučić became the first deputy prime minister. After becoming the first deputy prime minister, Vučić entered into a conflict with oligarch businessman Miroslav Mišković; he claimed that Mišković allegedly "gained illegal profit" in the 2000s. Mišković was arrested in December 2012 on suspicion of corruption, although in July 2013 he was released from custody. In October 2012, it was reported that SNS had over 330,000 members. The People's Party (NP), led by former mayor of Novi Sad Maja Gojković, merged into SNS in December 2012. By February 2013, SNS received over 40% of support in opinion polls, while DS, now in opposition, had 13% of support. Euractiv reported that SNS was accused of eyeing a snap parliamentary election, although it declined that it was conducting a smear campaign. In April 2013, a majority of Main Board members voted in favor of the Brussels Agreement, a normalization agreement between Serbia and Kosovo. In July 2013, SNS and SPS concluded that they continue leading the government without URS; the SNS–SPS government was reshuffled in early September 2013. Veroljub Arsić, who served as the head of the SNS parliamentary group, was replaced by Zoran Babić in August 2013. A month later, Dragan Đilas, the mayor of Belgrade, was dismissed after a vote of no confidence that was called by SNS and DSS; SPS and the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) also voted in support of the vote. Guy de Launey, a BBC correspondent, Dragoljub Žarković, the co-founder of the "Vreme" newspaper, and journalist Koča Pavlović, stated that Vučić held the most influence and power in the government due to his status as the president of the largest party in the coalition government. Freedom House, a non-profit research organization, noted that the efforts to curb corruption during 2013 received mixed results.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: SNS held an assembly on 26 January 2014 during which Vučić was re-elected unopposed as the party's president. At the assembly, he proposed to "test the will of the people" and called for a snap parliamentary election. President Nikolić dissolved the National Assembly on 29 January and set the parliamentary election to be held on 16 March 2014. In February, SNS presented its ballot list under the name "Future We Believe In". Additionally, it was announced that the Social Democratic Party of Serbia (SDPS), Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), and Christian Democratic Party of Serbia (DHSS) would appear on its list, alongside NS, PS, and PSS, who appeared on the SNS list in 2012. SNS campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, although Aleksandar Pavković, a Macquarie University professor, noted that there was no evidence that the platform decreased corruption. SNS also based its platform on criticizing its opponents, especially DS. In the parliamentary election, the SNS-led coalition won a majority of 158 seats in the National Assembly. Simultaneously, the City Assembly elections were held in Belgrade, in which the SNS-led coalition won 63 out of 110 seats. Siniša Mali, an independent nominated by SNS, was elected mayor of Belgrade on 24 April 2014. Vučić was elected and sworn in as prime minister three days later. His first cabinet was mostly composed of SNS and SPS individuals. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) noted that the SNS now had "complete political dominance" due to the status of Vučić as prime minister. BBC News described the victory as an "unprecedent event". In October 2014, Radomir Nikolić, the son of President Nikolić, was brought to power in Kragujevac, the fourth largest city in Serbia by population, after successfully removing Veroljub Stevanović from power after a vote of no confidence. By early 2015, SNS reported that it had around 500,000 members. Since coming to power, no major protests in Serbia were held until the anti-government protests in April 2015. The Do not let Belgrade drown (NDB) initiative, which headed the protests, opposed the Belgrade Waterfront, an urban development project headed by the Government of Serbia; one of its representatives described it as a "big scam". The project previously received criticism, with Milan Nešić, a Radio Free Europe journalist, describing it as a "pre-election trick". The protests lasted up to September 2015. After the cuts in public sector, protests were also held in December 2015. Freedom House criticized the SNS-led government by stating that it displayed "a sharp intolerance for any kind of criticism either from opposition parties, independent media, civil society, or even ordinary citizens".


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: In January 2016, Vučić announced that parliamentary elections will be held in April 2016. "Der Standard", an Austrian daily newspaper, stated that "he [Vučić] now has an absolute majority, and he wants to insure it for the next four years". Vučić stated that the reason behind the snap election was to "ensure a fresh mandate to push European Union accession". SNS began its campaign in late February 2016. In early March, President Nikolić dissolved the National Assembly and scheduled the parliamentary elections for 24 April 2016. This time, SNS took part under the "Serbia Is Winning" banner, while individuals from the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) and Serbian People's Party (SNP) were also on its ballot list, including individuals from parties that took part with SNS in the 2014 election. It was also reported that Aleksandar Martinović would replace Babić as the head of the SNS parliamentary group. During the campaign, SNS expressed its support for the European Union and military neutrality, while maintaining cooperation with NATO, and ensuring economic reforms, and a Western-type economy. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) noted that billboards and posters that promoted SNS were dominant during the campaign. In the parliamentary election, the SNS-led coalition won a majority of 131 seats in the National Assembly. Simultaneously, the provincial election was held in Vojvodina, in which SNS won 63 out of 120 seats in the Assembly of Vojvodina. Florian Bieber, a Luxembourgian political scientist, noted that "the landslide victory did not come as a surprise". DS, DSS, the Social Democratic Party (SDS), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV), Dveri, and Enough is Enough (DJB), all whom were in opposition to SNS, claimed that SNS allegedly stole the elections. Shortly after the election, opposition parties organized a protest in Belgrade. Another series of anti-government protests began in Belgrade in May 2016 after the demolition of private objects in Savamala, an urban neighborhood in Belgrade where the Belgrade Waterfront project is supposed to be built. The NDB initiative organized the protests which ended up lasting until October 2016. Vučić was re-elected president of SNS in May 2016. Igor Mirović was elected president of the Government of Vojvodina in June 2016. Vučić was given the mandate by President Nikolić to form a government, which he did with SPS in August 2016. Ana Brnabić, an openly lesbian and independent politician, was appointed minister in the Vučić's cabinet. In December 2016, Vučić affirmed that he would not run in the 2017 presidential election, although he also stated that the main body of SNS would decide its presidential candidate. Freedom House noted that "Serbia's democracy further deteriorated" in 2016.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: In January 2017, President Nikolić stated that he would want to run for re-election, although ministers such as Zorana Mihajlović and Aleksandar Vulin persuaded Vučić to run instead. A month later, SNS announced Vučić as its presidential candidate. Vučić received support from the coalition partners of SNS, and SPS, Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (VMSZ), and United Serbia (JS). During the campaign period, it was reported that major newspapers, such as "Alo!", "Blic", "Večernje novosti", "Politika", "Dnevnik", "Kurir", and "Srpski telegraf", printed the campaign posters of SNS on its front pages; Voice of America reported it as an "unprecedented move". Vučić campaigned on raising living standards, selling or shutting down state-owned companies, and austerity cuts. Robert Creamer, an American political consultant, criticized him and stated that "Vučić would be in a position to select a prime minister of his choice, [and] control the judiciary, and the election apparatus — eliminating all checks and balances in the Serbian government". In the presidential election, Vučić won 55% of the popular vote in the first run-off. Shortly after his election, mass protests erupted in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, and other locations across Serbia. The protests lasted until Vučić's inauguration, which occurred on 31 May 2017. In June 2017, Vučić proposed Brnabić as prime minister. She was sworn in on 29 June 2017. "Radio Free Europe" noted that, even though the presidency is a ceremonial role, Vučić has retained "de facto" power of SNS, while the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights noted that the political system "de facto" turned into a presidential one, similar to the era of Slobodan Milošević. , a journalist for "Danas", reported that by October 2017 SNS was close to reaching 600,000 members.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: SNS announced its participation in the 2018 Belgrade City Assembly election under the "Because We Love Belgrade" banner in January 2018. Zoran Radojičić, a pediatric surgeon, was chosen to be the first candidate on its ballot list. At a conference in Belgrade Youth Center in February 2018, its ballot list candidates and election program were presented. In the City Assembly election, SNS won 64 seats. , a non-governmental organization, noted that opposition politicians were mostly criticized by SNS during the campaign period. Radojičić replaced Mali and was appointed mayor in June 2018. In July 2018, political scientist Boban Stojanović noted that SNS had around 700,000 members. A series of anti-government protests began in December 2018 after an assault on Borko Stefanović, an opposition politician. The demonstrators criticized Vučić and SNS, demanded the end to political violence and stifling media freedom and freedom of expression. The protests, which were attended by tens of thousands, continued into 2019. In January 2019, SNS organized a meeting in support of Vladimir Putin's visit to Belgrade. A month later, SNS launched a campaign named "Future of Serbia", in contrary to the anti-government protests. Journalist Slobodan Georgiev noted that the campaign effectively silenced the protests. Prime Minister Brnabić joined SNS in October 2019.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: In January 2020, Vučić announced that the electoral threshold would be lowered to 3-percent. Critics saw this as a way that SNS would allow the "controlled opposition" to enter the National Assembly. SNS announced in February 2020 that it would take part under the "For Our Children" banner in the 2020 parliamentary election, stating that more than 50 percent of its ballot list would be comprised of young people. The SNS-led ballot list was headed over to the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) on 5 March, although the government postponed the election on 16 March due to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia. Initially supposed to be held on 26 April, the election was postponed to 21 June 2020. In the same month, the anti-government protests which began in December 2018, formally ended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Alliance for Serbia (SzS), the major opposition alliance, announced that it would boycott the election, claiming that the elections "would not be free and fair". Freedom House stated in May 2020 that it labeled Serbia as a hybrid regime, citing alleged "increased state capture, abuse of power, and terror tactics" by Vučić. In the parliamentary election, the SNS-led coalition won a supermajority of 188 seats; alongside SNS, the SPS–JS coalition and the Serbian Patriotic Alliance (SPAS) only crossed the electoral threshold. Vučić described it as "historical moment". Journalist Milenko Vasović saw the SNS election campaign as a promotion of Vučić and not the party itself. Simultaneously, a provincial election was held in Vojvodina in which SNS also won a supermajority of 76 seats. CeSID concluded that the election was met with "minimum democratic standards", while OSCE characterized that the election was met with political polarization. Bieber described it as a pyrrhic victory for SNS, and noted that the incoming legislation would not include opposition parties. Although, journalist Patrick Kingsley stated that the election could allow "for greater momentum in peace talks with Kosovo". After gaining a supermajority in the National Assembly, the Government of Serbia submitted a constitutional amendment regarding judiciary. In early July 2020, a series of protests and riots against Vučić and the announced tightening of measures due to the spread of COVID-19 began in Belgrade. It was reported that demonstrators took a peaceful approach in the protests, although that a group of far-right demonstrators also stormed the building of the National Assembly; the police shortly after cleared the building, although the clashes continued outside. The government responded by taking a violent approach towards the protests. The protests lasted until the first constitutive session of the post-2020 election legislation, which occurred on 3 August 2020. After the first constitutive session, the SNS parliamentary group changed its name to "Aleksandar Vučić – For Our Children". In September 2020, it was announced that SNS had around 750,000 members. Prime Minister Brnabić was re-elected in October 2020, while her new cabinet was mostly composed of members of SNS, SPS, and SPAS. The National Assembly adopted the proposal for constitutional changes in December 2020.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: Vučić announced in early May 2021 that he submitted a proposal to merge SPAS into SNS. Aleksandar Šapić, the leader of SPAS, stated that he supported the proposal. The merge was completed on 26 May, after which Šapić was appointed vice president of SNS, while SPAS MPs joined SNS in June 2021. Dialogues to improve election conditions between government and opposition parties, in which SNS took part, began in May 2021 and lasted until late October 2021. In June 2021, newspaper "Danas" reported that SNS had over 800,000 members. A series of environmental protests began in September 2021 due to the concerns about the Project Jadar, a lithium mining project headed by Rio Tinto, an Anglo-Australian mining company. The Government of Serbia supported the Project Jadar, whilst SNS also officials criticized the protests. The protests lasted until 15 February 2022. The Government of Serbia adopted changes for the law on referendum and people's initiative on 10 November 2021. The changes received criticism due to the abolishment of the 50% turnout that was needed for referendums to pass. At the end of the November 2021, Vučić was re-elected president of SNS. In January 2022, a constitutional referendum was held. A majority of 60% of voters voted in favor of proposed changes, an option which was supported by SNS. In preparation for the 2022 general election, SNS and SPS announced that they would not run on a joint parliamentary list and that SPS would support the presidential candidate of SNS. Additionally, SNS announced Šapić as its mayoral candidate for the Belgrade City Assembly election. The National Assembly was dissolved in February 2022 in order to call snap parliamentary elections; presidential elections were called next month. In the 2022 election, SNS took part under the "Together We Can Do Everything" banner, while Vučić was announced as the presidential candidate of SNS in March 2022. Transparency Serbia noted that SNS had "a significant domination in the media" during the campaign period, while CRTA alleged that the campaign period was met in worse conditions than in 2020. In the presidential election, Vučić was re-elected after winning 60% of the popular vote, while in the parliamentary election, the SNS-led coalition won 120 seats. In the Belgrade City Assembly election, the SNS-led coalition won 48 seats. Šapić was elected mayor of Belgrade in June 2022. Milenko Jovanov was appointed head of the SNS parliamentary group in August 2022, replacing Martinović, who was its head since 2016. Later that month, Prime Minister Brnabić was given another mandate to form a government. The composition of her third cabinet was announced on 23 October, while the cabinet was sworn in on 26 October.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: Following the establishment of SNS, Aleksandar Vučić denounced his previous support for the establishment of Greater Serbia, while Tomislav Nikolić stated that SNS would continue the accession of Serbia to the European Union. SNS declared its main tasks to be "fight against corruption and the realization of the rule of law", while describing itself as a "state-building party". Its white paper (election program) was published in October 2011. Jovan Teokarević, an associate professor at the Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences, described their ideological orientation as a "complete u-turn" in comparison with the Serbian Radical Party (SRS). Bojana Barlovac, a "Balkan Insight" journalist, stated that SNS "became much closer to DS on its policy profile", although in 2013, she described the party as conservative. Slobodan Antonić, a political scientist and sociologist, stated in 2014 that "ideological differences between DS and SNS are now non-existent". A year later, Antonić described SNS as a "party of personal power one leader and political marketing as its only true ideology".


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: SNS has been described as a populist party. Biserko stated that SNS is populist and that it built its ideological image on "social dissatisfaction". Dan Bilefsky, a "New York Times" journalist, also described the party as populist. Zoran Lutovac, a political scientist and future president of DS, described SNS as populist. He also added that SNS does not have a "coherent ideology" and added that its coalition "includes everyone, regardless of its ideology". Scholars and political scientists such as Justin Vaïsse, Chiara Milan, and Florian Bieber also agreed that SNS is populist. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) described SNS as populist as early as in January 2009. Sociologist Jovo Bakić described SNS as a "pragmatically re-profiled" and moderately conservative party, and compared its development to Gianfranco Fini's projects in Italy. Additionally, he stated that "since its foundation SNS had wanted to remodel itself as a conservative party". Scholars and journalists had also described SNS as conservative, liberal-conservative, and national-conservative. Marko Stojić, a Metropolitan University Prague lecturer, stated that "even though SNS claimed it was conservative" it cannot be described as conservative due to its pragmatic and weak ideological profile. Zoran Stojiljković and Dušan Spasojević, professors at the Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences, noted that following the formation of SNS, the Serbian political system acquired characteristics of moderate pluralism, and described SNS as a catch-all party. Additionally, they noted that SNS was formed as a centre-right party, although that its image shifted to the centre after the 2012 elections. Stojiljković and Spasojević also noted that SNS showed "clear populistic elements", and that "populist ideas are integral and important for its ideological profile". "Radio Free Europe" also described the party as centrist and catch-all, although it noted that "some analysts also stated that the party is right-leaning and conservative". Bieber described SNS centre-right but also as "non-ideological". "BBC News" noted that SNS "does not have a clear programmatic nor ideological vision", and added that SNS functions as a catch-all party. Stojić described SNS as a "typical catch-all party". Bojan Klačar of CeSID stated that SNS "espouses a right-of-centre ideology", but stated that "more importantly, SNS is a catch-all party" that captures a wide variety of opinions, and that SNS can be also considered to be liberal and pro-European. Political scientists Đorđe Pavićević and Boban Stojanović, journalist Ivan Radovanović, and authors Aleksandar Marinković and Novak Gajić also described SNS as a catch-all party. Additionally, authors had described SNS as centrist, and centre-right; some also described it as right-wing.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: SNS is economically neoliberal, and it advocates for austerity, market economy reforms, privatization, reduced spending, and liberalization of labour laws. Stojiljković and Spasojević noted that SNS already displayed their neoliberal position during the 2012 election period, and that SNS campaigned on significantly reducing subsidies, but also the number of MPs, ministries, agencies, institutes, and the state administration. Additionally, Stojiljković described its position as "neoliberal populist". SNS has enacted centralization policies, especially in Vojvodina. During the 2015 European migrant crisis, the SNS-led government did not impose any restrictions on migrants while crossing into the European Union, which author Vedran Džihić as a pragmatic move. Stojić described the move as "populist-Euroenthusiastic".


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: Since coming to power in 2012, observers have assessed that Serbia has suffered from democratic backsliding into authoritarianism, followed by a decline in media freedom and civil liberties. A research that was conducted by "Cenzolovka" in 2015 noted that SNS used media outlets to further their influence. Additionally, SNS was accused of paying internet trolls to praise the government and condemn those who think the opposite on internet forums and social networks. In 2020, Twitter removed 8,558 reportedly fake accounts that promoted SNS and Vučić, whilst criticizing the opposition. In 2021, the V-Dem Institute, categorized Serbia as an electoral autocracy; the institute also stated that the standards of judiciary and electoral integrity had declined in the past ten years. According to the Freedom House's report from 2022, SNS has "eroded political rights and civil liberties, putting pressure on independent media, the political opposition, and civil society organizations". Additionally, it reported that internet portals close to the government that "manipulate facts and slander independent media" continued to receive public funds on state and local levels. As a response, Vučić and Brnabić criticized Freedom House's report. In a Voice of America interview, Vladimir Orlić also stated that "Serbia is ranked higher than some EU countries on the freedom index".


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: Journalists have described SNS as pro-European. Biserko stated that its support for European Union is rather a "declarative support", and not a substantial one. Stojić described SNS as "soft Euroenthusiast". Additionally, Vladimir Goati, a political scientist, described the position of SNS towards the European Union rather as pragmatic, than ideological, while economic anthropologist Jovana Diković described SNS as "euro-pragmatic". In a 2014 report, Freedom House noted that the SNS-led government advanced Serbia's efforts regarding the European Union. Dragan Đukanović, a Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences professor, noted that SNS received support from the U.S. and European Union due to its pro-European agenda. Sonja Biserko, a human rights activist, argued in 2013 that SNS declaratively adopted the agenda of DS and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) regarding the views on the European Union. "Jacobin", an American socialist magazine, described SNS as a fusion of "a nationalist, pro-Russian wing and a modernizing, pro-European wing", while describing Nikolić as being represented in the pro-Russian wing, and Vučić in the pro-European wing, although that the both wings agree on neoliberal austerity. A European Parliament-published study noted that the SNS-led government continued the "four-pillar policy", a policy that seeks cooperation with European Union, United States, Russia, and China, which was introduced by Boris Tadić, the former president of Serbia and leader of DS. SNS supports military neutrality and it opposes joining NATO, although Serbia has continued militarily cooperating with NATO.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: SNS has a presidency which acts as the operational and political body of the party; it is composed of 30 members. It also has a main board and an executive board. The current president of SNS is Aleksandar Vučić, who was elected in 2012 and most recently re-elected in 2021; Jorgovanka Tabaković is the deputy president. Aleksandar Šapić, Ana Brnabić, Marko Đurić, Miloš Vučević, Nevena Đurić, Siniša Mali, and Vladimir Orlić are the current vice-presidents of SNS; all of them were elected in 2021. Milenko Jovanov has been the head of the SNS parliamentary group since 2022.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: The headquarters of SNS are located at Palmira Toljatija 5/3 in Belgrade. SNS publishes "SNS Informator", the party's newspaper. It also has a youth and women's wing. SNS also operates the , which it formed in 2019. SNS has received most of its support because of Vučić; an opinion poll conducted by Faktor Plus in December 2014 noted that 80% of SNS voters would not vote for SNS if someone else than Vučić was the head of the party. With at least 800,000 members as of 2021, SNS is the largest political party in Europe by membership as of 2019.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: SNS representatives in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe joined the European People's Party (EPP) in 2013. In the same year, SNS received support from the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) due to the establishment of the Brussels Agreement. SNS has received support from the CDU in regards to membership in the EPP in 2015. A year later, SNS and its youth wing became associate members of EPP. SNS officials attended CDU's congress in 2018. SNS became a member of the International Democrat Union in 2018.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: SNS took part in a meeting with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials in 2019. At the meeting, the parties "pledged to forge ever-closer links". SNS officials were also present in a 2021 summit that was organized by CCP. SNS established connections with United Russia (YeR) in 2010. Tomislav Nikolić was present at a YeR congress in 2011, while a year later, SNS officials were present at a YeR conference. Since then, SNS and YeR have signed several cooperation agreements, most recently being in 2021.


title: Serbian Progressive Party

text: In 2011, SNS signed a cooperation agreement with the Freedom Party of Austria. SNS also cooperated with Fidesz, the ruling party of Hungary; Fidesz members attended a SNS rally in 2019. In 2014, it was reported that SNS had ties with the New Serb Democracy in Montenegro, while SNS officials also attended a Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) rally in 2015. Vučić has been also accused of being the "figure behind" the Serb List in Kosovo.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: Horrible Bosses 2 is a 2014 American crime comedy directed by Sean Anders and written by Anders and John Morris. A sequel to 2011's "Horrible Bosses", the film stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, Chris Pine, and Christoph Waltz. The plot follows Nick (Bateman), Kurt (Sudeikis), and Dale (Day) as they kidnap the son (Pine) of a millionaire investor (Waltz) in order to blackmail him out of revenge after he screws them over on a business deal. It was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on November 26, 2014, received mixed reviews and grossed $107 million worldwide.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: Three years after the first film, Nick, Dale, and Kurt invent a car wash-inspired shower head, the "Shower Buddy". They are approached by Bert Hanson and his son Rex, and Bert agrees to invest if they can make 100,000 units.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: With a business loan, the trio outfit a warehouse, producing the quota. However, Bert backs out, as he never signed an agreement, and tells them that he plans to take their inventory in foreclosure and sell them (renamed as the "Shower Pal") himself, leaving them in debt $500,000 with their outstanding loan.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: Seeking financial advice, the three visit Nick's imprisoned former boss, Dave Harken, who says they have no feasible legal way to recover their losses. They then resolve to kidnap Rex for ransom. Seeking "Motherfucker" Jones' help, he suggests keeping the victim unconscious the entire kidnapping. Their ransom note asks for $500,000. They go to the office of Dale's former boss, Dr. Julia Harris, to steal nitrous oxide. While there, Kurt and Dale are almost caught by members of Julia's sex addiction support group; once they leave, Nick distracts Julia, allowing Dale and Kurt to escape.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: At Rex's, while hiding in the closet, Dale accidentally knocks them out with the gas. Waking up in the morning, Rex is gone. Returning to the warehouse, they find him tied up in their trunk. Getting out, he reveals he found them in his closet, but stages his own kidnapping. Rex sent the ransom note to Bert, increasing the ransom to $5 million. The three doubt Rex's plan, but he threatens to go to the police if they back out. They call Bert to inform him of Rex's kidnapping, threatening to kill him if the police are summoned. However the police, led by Detective Hatcher, subsequently arrive at the warehouse to question the suspects.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: When the police leave, Rex breaks down, as Bert cares more about his money than him. Now sympathetic, the trio agrees to do the fake kidnapping together. They form a plan to outsmart the police and get the ransom money. Using untraceable phones, a basement garage to block out any tracking signal, and Kurt disguised as Bert. While the plan is in motion, the trio realize Kurt left Bert his own phone instead of the untraceable one. Nevertheless they use Kurt's phone to give Bert the instructions. Before leaving, Julia arrives, demanding Dale sleep with or she will report them for breaking into her office. Dale's wife Stacy, with their three daughters, unexpectedly arrives. Believing he is cheating with Julia, she storms off. Dale angrily locks Julia in the bathroom so they can leave.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: In the basement garage, they demand Bert give them the money and the cell phone. However, Bert is killed by Rex, who reveals that, when his father did not care about him, he decided to kill him, framing them to inherit everything. As they are pursued by the police, Jones arrives. Anticipating they would be killed, he was going to take the ransom money himself.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: Jones drives them to the warehouse so they can prove their innocence. Upon arrival, he escapes with the money and the police find Rex tied up. Before they arrest the trio, Kurt's phone rings in Rex's pocket; the police recognize the ringtone as that left to Bert by the kidnappers. When Rex claims the phone is his, Hatcher asks why he did not call the police if he had a phone, so he takes him hostage. When Dale attempts to attack Rex, Rex shoots him. Hatcher subdues and arrests him, thanks to the distraction.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: Dale wakes up in the hospital. As Dale helped save Hatcher's life, the charges were dropped. Julia helped with Stacy, although hints at having raped him during his coma and promises to have sex with his wife as well. In the end, their business goes into foreclosure but Harken buys it, allowing the trio to stay employed. Jones, meanwhile, uses the ransom money to invest in Pinkberry.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: Following the first film's release in July 2011, director Seth Gordon confirmed that talks were underway for a sequel due to the financial success of the film in the United States, saying: "Yeah, we've definitely discussed it. It's done well in the States, the film has, so that's becoming a more concerted effort now, we're trying to figure out what the sequel could be." On January 4, 2012, it was confirmed that a sequel was moving forward and that screenwriters John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein would be returning to write the script. At this time, New Line Cinema was reported to be negotiating with Gordon to return as director as well as with Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis to return in the lead roles. On February 27, 2012, it was confirmed that Goldstein and Daley were in the process of writing the new script. In March 2013, Goldstein and Daley confirmed that they had submitted multiple draft scripts for the sequel, and that production had moved towards finalizing the budget. Later in the same month Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis were confirmed to be reprising their roles, with Jamie Foxx negotiating to return. The film was once again produced by Brett Ratner and Jay Stern.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: In August 2013, it was announced that Gordon would not be returning to direct because of scheduling conflicts and that the studio was actively searching for a replacement. In September 2013, Sean Anders was announced as Gordon's replacement, with John Morris joining the production as a producer. The pair had previously performed a rewrite on Goldstein's and Daley's sequel script. In September 2013, Jennifer Aniston signed on to reprise her role as Julia Harris.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: "Horrible Bosses 2" grossed $54.4 million in North America and $53.2 million in other territories for a total worldwide gross of $107.7 million worldwide, against a budget of $57 million. This was just over half its predecessor's total gross of $209 million.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: The film was released in 3,321 theaters in the United States and Canada on November 26, 2014. It earned $1 million from Tuesday night previews and $4.3 million (including previews) on its opening day. The next day on Thanksgiving Day it earned $3.1 million, for a two-day total of $7.3 million. On Friday the film earned $6.2 million. In its opening weekend it earned $15.5 million (a five-day total of $23 million), finishing fifth at the box office.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: Outside North America, the film was released to 42 markets and earned $11.7 million from 4,900 screens. The highest debuts came from Russia ($2.3 million), the United Kingdom ($2 million), Mexico ($1.13 million) and Germany ($1 million).


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 34% based on 155 reviews and an average rating of 4.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, ""Horrible Bosses 2" may trigger a few belly laughs among big fans of the original, but all in all, it's a waste of a strong cast that fails to justify its own existence." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 40 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, the same grade earned by its predecessor.


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: Justin Lowe of "The Hollywood Reporter" said, "The jokes start growing stale well before the film's midpoint." Justin Chang of "Variety" called the film an "inane and incredibly tasteless sequel." Dan Callahan of "TheWrap" told that "the result is puerile, ugly and painfully unfunny." Moira MacDonald of "The Seattle Times" gave the film one and a half stars out of four, saying "Lots of gags fly by, many of them in questionable taste (some downright offensive) and most of them unfunny." Claudia Puig of "USA Today" gave the film one out of four stars, saying "This ill-conceived sequel to 2011's entertaining "Horrible Bosses" is base, moronic, insulting and vulgar. It's also cringingly unfunny." Tom Russo of "The Boston Globe" gave the film two and a half out of four stars and said, "A new misadventure whose negligibly refined formula somehow ends up being more consistently entertaining." Stephen Holden of "The New York Times" said that the film is "one of the sloppiest and most unnecessary Hollywood sequels ever made, isn't dirtier or more offensive than its 2011 forerunner. But it is infinitely dumber and not half as funny."


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: Kyle Smith of the "New York Post" gave one out of four stars, saying "Duct tape, thick rope and the threat of being shot all figure prominently in "Horrible Bosses 2". All would have been required to keep me in my seat if it weren't my job to report back on this factory-issued sequel." Betsy Sharkey of "Los Angeles Times" said, "Make no mistake, despite some well-earned laughs, "Horrible Bosses 2" is not what qualifies as a good movie or even a particularly good R-rated comedy." Joe Williams of "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" gave the film two out of four stars and said, ""Horrible Bosses 2" is further proof that likable actors have to take an occasional sick day." James Berardinelli gave the film one and a half stars out of four and wrote for ReelViews, ""Horrible Bosses 2" (emphasis on "horrible") is an apt title for this repugnant, unnecessary sequel."


title: Horrible Bosses 2

text: The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 24, 2015. Like the first film, the Blu-ray release contains an extended version, which runs an additional eight minutes longer than the 108-minute theatrical cut.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup (, ; ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. It is the second largest airport in the Nordic countries.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: As of 2019, the airport was the largest airport in the Nordic countries with close to 30.3 million passengers. It is one of the oldest international airports in Europe, the fourth-busiest airport in Northern Europe, and the busiest for international travel in Scandinavia.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: The airport is on the island of Amager, south of Copenhagen city centre, and west of Malmö city centre, to which it is connected by the Øresund Bridge. The airport covers an area of . Most of the airport is in the municipality of Tårnby, with a small part in the city of Dragør.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: The airport is the main hub out of three used by Scandinavian Airlines and is also an operating base for Sunclass Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle. Copenhagen Airport handles around 60 scheduled airlines, and has a maximum operation capability of 83 operations/hour, and a total of 108 jet bridges and remote parking stands. Unlike other Scandinavian airports, most of the airport's passengers are international. In 2015, 6.1% of passengers travelled to and from other Danish airports, 83.5% to/from other European airports, and 10.4% were intercontinental passengers. The airport is owned by Københavns Lufthavne, which also operates Roskilde Airport. The airport employs 1,700 people (not including employees in shops, restaurants, etc.).


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: Copenhagen Airport was originally called Kastrup Airport, after the small town of Kastrup, now part of the Tårnby municipality. The formal name is still Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, to distinguish it from Roskilde Airport.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: The airport was inaugurated 20 April 1925 and was one of the first civil airports in the world. It consisted of a large, impressive terminal built of wood, a couple of hangars, a balloon mast, a hydroplane landing stage and a few grassy meadows that could be used as runways. The grass on the runways was kept short by sheep, which were shepherded away before take-offs and landings. From 1932 to 1939, takeoffs and landings increased from 6,000 to 50,000 and passenger number increased to 72,000. Between 1936 and 1939, a new terminal was built, considered one of the finest examples of Nordic functionalism. The terminal was designed by Vilhelm Lauritzen, who was considered a pioneer among architects, in terms not only of architecture and construction, but also of service and passenger comfort.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: In the years of World War II, the Copenhagen airport was closed for civil operations except for periodic flights to destinations in Sweden, Germany, and Austria. In the summer of 1941 the first hard-surface runway opened. It was long and wide. When World War II ended in May 1945, Copenhagen had the most modern international airport in Europe, because the airport remained untouched by actual acts of war.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: On 1 August 1947, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) was founded, an important event for the Copenhagen Airport, as Copenhagen was to be the main hub for the airline. Traffic increased rapidly in the first years SAS operated. On 26 January 1947, a KLM Douglas DC-3 "Dakota" crashed at the airport after stopping en route to Stockholm. 22 people on board died, including the Swedish prince Gustav Adolf and the American opera singer Grace Moore. In 1948, Copenhagen airport was third largest airport in Europe with 150 daily takeoffs and almost 300,000 passengers for the year. The airport continued its rapid growth. The terminal was expanded several times and new hangars were erected.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: In 1954, Scandinavian Airlines begins the world's first trans-polar route, flying initially to Los Angeles. The route proved to be a publicity coup, and for some years Copenhagen became a popular transit point for Hollywood stars and producers flying to Europe – also the airport handled 11,000 tonnes of freight per year. In 1956, the airport handled 1 million passengers per year and won the award for the world's best airport. The runways were lengthened and fitted with technically advanced equipment.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: By 10 May 1960, when the new airport terminal (now Terminal 2) was inaugurated, the daily number of jet operations had increased to 28, and still traffic kept on growing. The large new airport terminal soon became too small, and in 1969 yet another huge expansion programme was launched. Domestic traffic was relocated to a new domestic terminal (the eastern part of Terminal 1). The (current) international terminal was supplemented with a new pier (C) and a separate arrivals hall (the building between Terminals 2 and 3). A new control tower and of additional runways allowed take-offs and landings to take place at the same time. When the comprehensive expansion was completed in 1972, the number of take-offs and landings exceeded 180,000 and there were more than eight million passengers.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: Throughout the 1970s, airport traffic continued to grow, but the airport was not expanded further. A new large airport located at the island of Saltholm (with a connecting bridge to Denmark and Sweden) was on the drawing board. It would be a huge investment, and the proposal was evaluated thoroughly by many experts. In 1980, however, the Danish parliament instead decided to expand the capacity of Copenhagen airport to 20–22 million passengers by the year 2000. This solution was far cheaper than building a new airport and because the new types of aircraft were less noisy, an airport on Saltholm did not offer a decisive environmental gain. In 1973 the airport handled 8 million passengers per year. The third (long) runway opened and the dual runway system (04L/22R-04R/22L) opened, strongly expanding the starts and landings capacity.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: The expansion of the airport began in 1982, after the necessary period of planning. The intention was not to build Europe's largest airport, but to build transit passengers' favourite airport. A stay at the airport was supposed to be an integral part of the travel experience. Efficiency and precision were obvious demands, but focus was also on generating an oasis where international travellers could relax: beautiful architecture, Scandinavian design, and pleasant, light, and comfortable surroundings with plenty of shops, restaurants, and other facilities providing enjoyment and pleasure. The new cargo terminal was built in the eastern area of the airport.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: From 1984, SAS operated a marine link from the airport to Malmö, across the Øresund to a dedicated terminal in Malmö where luggage could be checked in. From 1984 to 1994, the service was operated by hovercraft, whereas from 1994 to 2000 catamarans were used. The marine link closed in 2000 due to the opening of the Øresund Bridge.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: A number of important construction projects were completed in 1998: a pier connecting the domestic and international terminals; a new arrivals hall; new modern baggage handling facilities; an underground railway station with two large underground parking facilities with 2400 spaces opens; and above it all the spacious and impressive delta-shaped terminal (Terminal 3) with 17 million passengers capacity. The first stage of the new Pier D was completed in the spring of 1999.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: On 1 July 2000 the Øresund Bridge opened which connects Denmark and Sweden by motorway and train. In 2001 the five-star Hilton hotel opened with 382 rooms. In 2006 for the first time in its history Copenhagen airport exceeded 20 million passengers and reached 20,900,000 passengers. In October 2007 the metro station opened, connecting the airport to the Copenhagen Metro. A new control tower opened in 2008 by Naviair as part of a major renovation of the ATC system. Airport officials announced plans to build a new low-cost terminal at the facility. On 31 October 2010 the new low cost terminal CPH Go opened by easyJet. In 2013 the airport handled a new record of 24,067,030 passengers. In 2014 CPH announced plans to increase capacity to 40 million passengers per year. It reached 30 million in 2018.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: From late 2015, the airport became the first in Scandinavia to have a regularly scheduled A380 service after Emirates started operating the plane for its Copenhagen route.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the number of passengers fell dramatically during 2020. There were 7.525 million passengers this year, a majority of these in January and February when restrictions were yet not issued. The Group Annual Report 2020 showed 600 million DKK in deficit.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: Copenhagen Airport has two terminals for check-in, Terminals 2 and 3, which handle all flights and share a common airside passenger concourse as well as the arrivals section which houses customs and baggage claim and is physically located in Terminal 3. The airside is reached through a common security check located between Terminal 2 and Terminal 3.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: The common airside passenger concourse is divided into piers, called A, B, C, D and F. Pier A and B are for flights inside Schengen only. Pier C is mostly for flights outside Schengen. Pier D is mostly for flights inside Schengen. The newest section, CPH Go, now called Pier F, dedicated to low-cost carriers opened in October 2010. So far, EasyJet, Transavia and Ryanair are the only airlines operating from this facility. An all new Terminal 4 has been discussed, but replaced by plans to expand the current facilities in appropriate increments. Copenhagen Airport says passengers have easy transfer possibilities.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: Previously all domestic flights departed from Terminal 1, but from 29 March 2015 all departures have been collected in Terminals 2 and 3, and Pier C was expanded with another jetbridge at DKK 10M to facilitate the Emirates Airbus A380 to Dubai from December 2015, which was the first 2-class A380 carrying 615 passengers.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: Despite the short distance to the city centre, approaches to, and departures from, the airport are above water due to the heading of the dual parallel runway system (04R/22L & 04L/22R). Those runways point to the Øresund strait, close in both directions. The supplementary runway (30/12) oriented perpendicular to the main runways also has its approach or departure over Øresund in one direction. In the opposite direction, the 30/12 runway has noise restrictions as flight happens close over residential areas. Other advantages are the low altitude of the airport and absence of hills and high buildings below the approach directions. In case of fog, the runway 22L is equipped with an ILS category III C system, which allows modern aircraft to land in zero sight. Runway 04R/22L was widened by 4 meters in each side at DKK 30M to accommodate the Airbus A380, as part of a general concrete renewal program of DKK 300M.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: The SAS traffic office resides at Copenhagen Airport South and in Dragør, together with a VIP terminal. The VIP terminal is actually the first terminal building, from the 1920s. It was moved about 2 km during the 1990s.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: In 2015, Boeing opened a maintenance, repair, and operations facility at CPH, as proximity to daily operations is more important than high wages when checks have to be made every 1,000 flight hours.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: Within the airport area, special airport buses depart every 15 minutes. The bus line connects all terminals and parking lot areas and uses in all 11 bus stops. The transport is free of charge for all. During a few night hours, the buses depart every 20 minutes instead.


title: Copenhagen Airport

text: Line M2 of the Copenhagen Metro links the airport with the city centre in around 15 minutes. The Metro station is two floors above the underground rail station and continues on elevated tracks until it goes underground after 5 stations. The metro trains run very frequently, in rush hours every four minutes, outside rush hours and on weekends every six minutes, and every 15/20 minutes at night. The metro runs to Kongens Nytorv station amongst other stations, from where you can connect to the new City Circle that runs through the Østerbro, Nørrebro, Frederiksberg districts amongst other places in Copenhagen.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: The Houston Astros sign stealing scandal resulted from a series of rule violations by members of the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB), who used technology to steal signs of opposing teams during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: For years, some individuals on other teams had suspected the Astros of stealing signs, but there was no public reporting on the subject until November 2019, when reporters Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich at "The Athletic" published an article detailing the team's activities. Mike Fiers, a pitcher who played for the Astros in 2017, told "The Athletic" that the organization used a video camera in the center field seats to film the opposing catcher's signals to the pitcher regarding the next pitch. Astros players or team staffers watching the live camera feed behind the dugout used various audio cues, such as banging on a trash can, to signal to the batter what type of pitch was coming next. MLB investigated the allegations and confirmed in January 2020 that the Astros illegally used a camera system to steal signs during the 2017 regular season and postseason, during which they won the World Series, as well as in part of the 2018 season. MLB found no evidence of illicit sign stealing in the 2019 season, in which the Astros advanced to the World Series, but lost in seven games to the Washington Nationals.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: As a result, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and field manager A. J. Hinch were suspended for the entire 2020 season for failing to prevent the rule violations. The Astros were fined the maximum allowable $5 million and forfeited their first- and second-round picks in the 2020 and 2021 drafts. No players were punished because they had been given immunity by MLB in exchange for their cooperation. The Astros subsequently fired both Luhnow and Hinch on the day their suspensions were announced. MLB's investigation also determined that Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora helped mastermind the Astros' sign stealing while serving as Hinch's bench coach in 2017. The Red Sox and Cora mutually parted ways the following day and MLB suspended him through the 2020 postseason, although the Red Sox rehired Cora after his suspension ended. Carlos Beltrán was the only Astros player from 2017 who was specifically named in the report; he had been hired to manage the New York Mets in November 2019 but parted ways with the team after the results of MLB's investigation were announced.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: The sanctions against the Astros were the most severe that MLB has ever issued against a member club, and are among the most severe sanctions for in-game misconduct in baseball history. A "Wall Street Journal" article published a few weeks after the MLB report described previously unknown details about the sign stealing operation and reported that it originated during the 2016 season, a broader scope than reported by MLB. After the scandal broke, players on the 2017 Astros apologized to varying degrees. The team's actions were heavily criticized by players on other MLB teams. The scandal dominated the 2019–2020 offseason and the start of 2020 spring training. The scandal also led to lawsuits against the Astros and MLB.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Sign stealing is not inherently against baseball rules and has long been considered part of the game, as it is considered an observational loophole. In 2017, "The New York Times" wrote that sign stealing was "something of an art form in baseball" which "is tolerated, even admired". Many players and coaches are considered masters at stealing signs.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: However, Major League Baseball (MLB) has long frowned upon the use of technology to steal signs. In 1961, the National League (NL) banned the use of a "mechanical device" to steal signs. While MLB did not, at the time, specifically ban electronic equipment, it issued a memorandum in 2001 stating that teams cannot use electronic equipment to communicate with each other during games, especially for the purpose of stealing signs. In September 2017, after the Boston Red Sox were fined for using a smartwatch to try to steal signs, Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred issued a memo to all 30 clubs warning that future incidents of electronic sign stealing "will be subject to more serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks".


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: In 2014, as part of the expansion of replay review in MLB, all 30 teams were permitted to install video replay rooms in their stadiums with live camera feeds, and the dugout was permitted to communicate with staffers in the room. As MLB realized that teams were potentially using the video replay room for other purposes, including sign stealing, MLB placed league officials in the replay rooms for the first time beginning in the 2018 playoffs.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Prior to the 2019 season, MLB reached an agreement with the MLB Players Association to institute new rules restricting the use of live camera feeds by placing a league official in all 30 replay rooms, and allowing only replay officials to watch in real time while others could only watch with an eight-second delay. Tom Verducci of "Sports Illustrated" said that the ban would include "all non-broadcast outfield cameras from foul pole to foul pole as well as tightening restrictions on in-house video".


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: The Astros finished in first place in the American League (AL) West division for the 2017 season with a win–loss record of 101–61. They defeated the Red Sox, three games to one, in the 2017 AL Division Series, including two wins at home at Minute Maid Park and one win away at Fenway Park. They defeated the New York Yankees in the 2017 AL Championship Series in seven games, winning all four home games at Minute Maid Park while losing all three road games at Yankee Stadium. In the World Series, the Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games, going 2–2 at Dodger Stadium and 2–1 at Minute Maid Park. It was their first World Series championship in franchise history and the city's first championship since 1995. The Astros finished in first place in the AL West again in 2018 with a 103–59 record but lost the AL Championship Series to the Red Sox. Houston returned to the World Series in 2019 and in 2021, losing to the Washington Nationals in seven games and the Atlanta Braves in six games, respectively.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Speculation about sign stealing by the Astros had been rampant for a number of years. The Astros were not the only team to be suspected of sign stealing; concern about electronic sign stealing was high around the league. After the scandal broke in 2019, many members of the Dodgers organization said that they had suspected the Astros were illegally stealing signs during the 2017 World Series. Andrew Friedman, the President of Baseball Operations for the Dodgers, stated that "there was just a lot of speculation at the time about it". The Cleveland Indians caught an Astros employee taking pictures of their dugout during the 2018 AL Division Series and warned the Red Sox, who faced the Astros in the AL Championship Series. The same man was found taking pictures of the Red Sox dugout in the AL Championship Series. The Yankees asked MLB to investigate whistling sounds that they believed were meant to relay signs to batters in Game 1 of the 2019 AL Championship Series, but MLB said they found no wrongdoing. Astros manager A. J. Hinch mocked the Yankees for the accusation, saying: "it made me laugh because it's ridiculous. And had I known that it would take something like that to set off the Yankees or any other team, we would have practiced it in spring training." The Yankees also reportedly alleged that the Astros were using blinking lights beyond the center-field fences to relay stolen signs in Game 6 of the series.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Before the 2019 World Series, MLB disciplinarian Joe Torre and other league officials held an unusual pre-series meeting with the GMs and managers of both teams to warn them against using cameras pointed at the dugouts or at catchers or using electronics in the dugout. Multiple Nationals players were contacted by other players around the league to warn them about the Astros. One unnamed Nationals player told "The Washington Post", "It was amazing, once [it was assured] we were playing the Astros, how many people were coming out of the woodwork to let us know what they were doing." The Nationals developed a complex system of mixing signs to thwart any attempts by the Astros to steal signs in the World Series. The Nationals went on to beat the Astros by winning four away games at Minute Maid Park.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: On November 12, 2019, journalists Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich published a story in "The Athletic" detailing for the first time specific allegations that the Astros had engaged in illicit electronic sign stealing. Mike Fiers, a pitcher who played for the Astros in 2017, stated that a center-field camera feed was sent to the tunnel behind the Astros dugout in Minute Maid Park. An Astros player or staff member then hit a trash can to signal specific different pitches to the batter at home plate. In addition to Fiers, unnamed sources were cited in the article. MLB began an investigation the day after the "Athletic" story was published. Jeff Luhnow, the general manager of the Astros, stated that the Astros organization was "going to look into the allegations in cooperation with Major League Baseball".


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Internet sports personality Jimmy "Jomboy" O'Brien published videos on YouTube and Twitter, sourced from MLB.TV archives, that appeared to clearly show the scheme playing out in real time. In one such clip from an Astros game against the Chicago White Sox, banging could clearly be heard whenever White Sox catcher Kevan Smith called for pitcher Danny Farquhar to throw a changeup. The White Sox subsequently changed their signs to thwart the Astros. O'Brien argued that this "upsetting" sequence proved there was no way the Astros could have obtained the signs without the help of technology. Others on social media joined O'Brien in posting video clips alleging to demonstrate the Astros' sign-stealing scheme. Joon Lee from ESPN.com credited "social media sleuthing skills" with helping shape the league's investigation by reducing the amount of time needed to review video for evidence.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: In a subsequent report from "The Athletic", it was reported that an Astros executive had asked scouts for help stealing signs and suggested using cameras in an August 2017 email. Further allegations regarding other means of relaying signs, such as whistling, surfaced in subsequent weeks. There was also speculation that the Astros had developed more advanced ways to relay stolen signs to hitters. Joel Sherman of the "New York Post" reported, "In recent days I have had scouts and executives talk to me about a variety of methods they think have been or could be employed, such as a realistic-looking electronic bandage placed on a player's body that buzzes in real time to signal what is coming." According to a "Washington Post" report published in February 2020, as many as ten to twelve teams had complained about potential sign stealing by the Astros over the years.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Most members of the Astros organization kept silent publicly throughout the investigation. The day after the original "Athletic" article, former Astros player Carlos Beltrán denied having knowledge of the alleged scheme. Hinch appeared at a press conference during the annual Winter Meetings and said he was cooperating with MLB but declined to comment further. In a January "Houston Chronicle" article published before MLB announced the findings from its investigation, Astros shortstop Carlos Correa expressed surprise that Fiers had made the accusations. Joe Musgrove said, "I wasn't even in the dugout for any of that stuff," while Alex Bregman and George Springer declined to comment.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Rosenthal wrote one week after the original report that he and Drellich "also heard—and continue to hear—about possible violations by a number of other clubs." Illicit sign stealing was a hot topic at the offseason GM meetings and Winter Meetings.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Days after "The Athletic"s article alleging the Astros' sign stealing, Manfred stated that MLB was conducting a "really, really thorough" investigation. During the investigation, it was publicly reported that witnesses admitted that the Astros used a system to relay pitch types to batters. In December 2019, Tom Verducci of "Sports Illustrated" reported that the investigation had expanded to cover the 2018 season, and that MLB investigators were combing through 70,000 emails and had conducted 70 interviews.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: On January 13, 2020, Manfred announced the results of the investigation, confirming that the Astros had illegally used a video camera system to steal signs in the 2017 regular season and postseason, and in parts of the 2018 regular season. The report detailed that two months into the 2017 season, Astros bench coach Alex Cora and a group of players which included Beltrán worked to create a system to steal signs. One or more players would watch the live feed on a monitor behind the dugout, and decode the signs. The players initially experimented with clapping, whistling, and yelling, but determined banging a trash can with a bat was most effective. One or two bangs corresponded to a breaking ball, and no banging indicated a fastball. In addition to the banging method, Astros employees in the video room would also decode signs and send information to the dugout to be relayed to runners on second base who would relay signs to the batter. Players were concerned about their method being discovered by other teams, and several players said there was a sense of "panic" in the dugout after White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar appeared to notice the banging in a September 2017 game. After the Farquhar incident, the Astros replaced the wall-mounted monitor and used a portable monitor in the postseason. The team continued using illicit methods to steal signs in the 2017 postseason (though Manfred later said there was "conflicting evidence" about whether it continued into the postseason or not). The Astros did not use the banging method in 2018, but continued to use other methods until players decided it was no longer effective and stopped at some point in the 2018 season. The investigation found no evidence of sign stealing in their pennant-winning 2019 season.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: The Astros were fined $5 million, the maximum allowed by the MLB constitution, and forced to forfeit their first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021. In addition, Luhnow and Hinch were each suspended for the entire 2020 season, including the playoffs.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Hinch's year-long suspension was one of the most severe punishments in baseball history meted out to a manager for in-game misconduct. The only longer suspension handed out to a manager for in-game misconduct was to St. Louis Browns manager Jack O'Connor, who was permanently banned from baseball for trying to throw the 1910 American League batting title to Nap Lajoie by bribing the official scorer to change a hit on error to a hit in the final game of the season. Luhnow's year-long suspension was the longest meted out to an MLB executive since Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella was permanently banned in 2017 for numerous violations of MLB rules on signing international players.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: The investigation revealed that Luhnow did not know about the banging scheme, though he had "some knowledge" about replay room staffers decoding signs and transmitting them to the dugout, contrary to his denials. Manfred found that while Luhnow did not know about the players' role in the scheme, he should have made it his business to know about the players' activities, especially in light of earlier sign-stealing scandals. According to Manfred, had Luhnow taken "adequate steps" to ensure the Astros followed the rules, the sign stealing operation could have been shut down as early as Manfred's September 2017 memo, and certainly by March 2018, when Torre issued a memo that clarified the ban on using technology to steal signs. Manfred wrote that since the general manager was responsible for ensuring compliance with "both standards of conduct set by Club ownership and MLB Rules," he was holding Luhnow "personally accountable for the conduct of his Club." He also criticized Luhnow for creating a baseball operation that emphasized "results over other considerations", which he believed allowed the sign stealing to continue for as long as it did. Manfred also believed that same culture allowed Luhnow's assistant Brandon Taubman to make misogynistic remarks to female reporters after the Astros clinched the 2019 pennant. Taubman was fired for lying about the comments, and was subsequently banned from baseball through at least the 2020 season.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: The investigation found that Hinch did not approve of the use of the replay monitor in this manner, and even destroyed it on two occasions. However, he did allow it to continue through the team's run to the 2017 World Series. Manfred harshly criticized him for this, saying that since the manager is responsible for directly supervising the players and coaches, there was "no justification for Hinch's failure to act". Although Hinch regretted his failure to act, Manfred said that he had to hold him responsible for it.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: No players were punished because they had been given immunity by MLB in exchange for their cooperation with the investigation. MLB reportedly made the immunity deal with players because it believed it would not win grievances from the players union if it attempted to discipline players. In his report, Manfred said it was "difficult and impractical" to determine degrees of culpability by players due to the sheer number of players involved. He placed primary responsibility on Luhnow and Hinch, saying that the general manager and field manager are responsible for "ensuring that the players both understand the rules and adhere to them". If Luhnow and Hinch committed further "material violations" of baseball rules, they will be permanently banned from baseball. Additionally, Luhnow was required to undergo "management/leadership training" while suspended.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Only hours after MLB announced its findings, Astros owner Jim Crane fired Luhnow and Hinch, saying, "Neither one of them started this but neither one of them did anything about it." Crane said he was going beyond MLB's sanctions because he had "higher standards for the city and the franchise". Manfred had cleared Crane of wrongdoing at the beginning of his report, saying that Crane was "extraordinarily troubled and upset" by the revelations and had fully cooperated.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: A day later, on January 14, 2020, the Red Sox and their manager at the mutually agreed to part ways as a result of his involvement in the scandal. The investigation found that Cora was closely involved in implementing the scheme, as well as using the replay room to decode signs. Based on those findings, both Cora and Red Sox officials concluded that he could not effectively lead the team into 2020 and beyond. Although Manfred deferred a decision on discipline for Cora until after a separate investigation into video sign stealing during the championship run by the 2018 Red Sox, it was widely expected that he would receive a lengthy suspension, at least as long as the one-year suspension meted out to Hinch. On April 22, 2020, Manfred issued findings from MLB's investigation about Boston's 2018 team. The findings focused on the actions of the team's replay operator, who as a result was suspended for the 2020 season (including postseason) and the team forfeited their second-round selection in the 2020 draft. About Cora, Manfred stated:


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Alex Cora will be suspended through the conclusion of the 2020 Postseason for his conduct as the bench coach of the Houston Astros in 2017. While I will not impose additional discipline on Cora as a result of the conduct engaged in by [the Red Sox' replay operator] (because I do not find that he was aware of it), I do note that Cora did not effectively communicate to Red Sox players the sign-stealing rules that were in place for the 2018 season.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: On January 16, 2020, the New York Mets and Beltrán – who was hired as their manager in the 2019–2020 offseason – mutually agreed to part ways, as he was the only then-Astros player called out by name for his involvement in the scheme. Beltrán never managed a game for the Mets. In a statement, he said: "As a veteran player on the team, I should've recognized the severity of the issue and truly regret the actions that were taken. I am a man of faith and integrity and what took place did not demonstrate those characteristics that are so very important to me and my family. I'm very sorry. It's not who I am as a father, a husband, a teammate and as an educator."


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: The report and discipline did not stop additional accusations of sign stealing from being made. The release of the report sparked a new frenzy of speculation and rumors on the internet in the week afterward. A Twitter account of a person claiming to be Beltrán's niece made accusations about non-Astros players around the league; Beltrán's family said the account was fake and some speculated that it actually belonged to a player. Rumors again circulated that Astros players were wearing buzzing electronic devices during the 2019 playoffs that would relay a stolen sign through vibrations, as originally speculated in a report in the "New York Post". Jose Altuve released a statement through his agent stating, "I have never worn an electronic device in my performance as a major league player." A few days later in a media appearance, Altuve said "some people made that up...the best thing that happened to me was that MLB investigated it and found nothing." Josh Reddick called internet speculation that he was wearing a buzzing device "ridiculous", and Alex Bregman called the buzzer rumors "stupid".


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Josh Reddick was the first Astros player made available to speak to the media after the report, and he told reporters, "It stinks for everybody involved" and, "When everyone feels the time is right, it will get taken care of." Bregman and José Altuve appeared before the media at the Astros annual fan festival in Houston the week the report was released. Bregman answered repeated attempts by reporters to have him address the scandal with variations of the same phrase: "The commissioner made his report, made his decision and the Astros made their decision and I have no further comment on it." Altuve was more talkative but said it was too early to comment, saying, "I think the time to comment about that will come," while vowing that the Astros would return to the World Series.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: After Bregman's and Altuve's comments were criticized, Crane promised that the team would hold a press conference at spring training when all the players were together to "apologize for what happened, ask for forgiveness and move forward." At the 2019 Baseball Writers' Association of America banquet, Justin Verlander, in his acceptance speech for winning the 2019 AL Cy Young Award, said of the Astros "as everybody knows, they're very technologically and analytically advanced", prompting a mix of boos and laughter from the audience.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Dallas Keuchel was the first member of the 2017 Astros to publicly apologize for the scandal. Speaking at a fan convention in February 2020 for his new team, the Chicago White Sox, Keuchel said, "It's just what the state of baseball was at that point and time. Was it against the rules? Yes it was, and I personally am sorry for what's come about, the whole situation." Marwin González was the first position player from the 2017 Astros to publicly apologize, speaking to the media at spring training as a member of the Minnesota Twins, saying, "I'm remorseful for everything that happened in 2017, everything that we did as a group and the players that were affected directly by us doing this." Musgrove said about the 2017 championship season, "I don't want to say it's tainted, but I think it is."


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Former Astros hitting coach Dave Hudgens also apologized for his role in the scandal, admitting that he was aware of the illegal sign stealing but did not do anything to stop it. Hudgens also confirmed that Beltrán was one of the leaders in the scheme.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Hinch made his first public comments after his firing in February 2020 in a televised interview with Verducci on MLB Network. Hinch said that he had failed as a leader and that he lacked the confidence in 2017 to try to make the players stop. Verducci asked Hinch about the allegations the Astros had changed from the trash can banging to electronic buzzers worn underneath their uniforms that would signal what pitch was coming. Hinch's answer attracted scrutiny because he did not give a firm no, saying instead: "We got investigated for three months and the commissioner's office did as thorough an investigation as anyone could imagine was possible. I know he mentioned the emails and the texts and the messages. And I believe him." After the remark was questioned as evasive, Hinch issued a statement a few days later saying, "To be clear, I have never seen any such device used in baseball. I am not aware of any such device existing or being utilized with the Astros, the players, or any other team. ... In my interview with Tom, I acknowledged the commissioner's report as evidence due to the in-depth nature of the investigation, not as an intended non-answer or a way to elude the question."


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: On February 13, 2020, the Astros held a news conference at their spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Florida, to address the scandal. Bregman said: "I am really sorry about the choices that were made by my team, by the organization and by me. I have learned from this and I hope to regain the trust of baseball fans." Altuve said: "[I] especially feel remorse for the impact on our fans and the game of baseball." The players were sent back into the clubhouse for a media availability while Crane and new manager Dusty Baker took questions from the media. The press conference was panned by journalists who criticized Crane's answers to questions.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: After the press conference, the clubhouse was opened to members of the media and players were made available to speak. Correa said: "We were wrong for everything we did in 2017. It's not what we stand for. It's not what we want to portray as an organization, and we were definitely wrong about all that and we feel really sorry. We affected careers, we affected the game in some way, and looking back at it, it was just bad." However, Correa vehemently denied reports that Beltrán was the ringleader of the scheme and intimidated other players. Bregman said he was embarrassed and pledged to "work extremely hard" to regain trust. Altuve said: "I'm not going to say to you that it was good—it was wrong. We feel bad, we feel remorse, like I said, the impact on the fans, the impact on the game—we feel bad." Verlander, who was acquired via trade in the middle of the 2017 season, said: "I wish I had said more. Looking back, I can't go back, I can't reverse my decision. I wish I had said more, and I didn't, and for that I am sorry."


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Tony Kemp, who played in seventeen regular season games for the Astros in 2017 after a September call-up, said he was immediately asked if he wanted to participate in the sign stealing scheme but refused. He said, "Once I got there in September, the system was already in place, and I just tried to keep my head down and play hard and not really concern myself with it."


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Dodgers player Cody Bellinger said that Altuve had stolen the AL Most Valuable Player Award from runner-up Aaron Judge in 2017. Correa responded to Bellinger's comments in an interview with Rosenthal, saying that Altuve did not want anything to do with the sign-stealing scheme: "The few times that the trash can was banged was without his consent, and he would go inside the clubhouse and inside the dugout to whoever was banging the trash can and he would get pissed. He would get mad. He would say, 'I don't want this. I can't hit like this. Don't you do that to me.' He played the game clean." Correa also claimed the Astros did not steal signs in the 2017 World Series, and that they did not use the trash can banging in 2018.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Ken Giles, the Astros' closer during the 2017 season, claimed that he was unaware of the sign stealing. He was also the second player, after Fiers, to say that he would give back his World Series ring. Giles said: "Whatever they ask, I would oblige. Because what was going on at the time was not OK." Collin McHugh, another pitcher on the 2017 Astros, said that he knew about the illegal sign stealing scheme and expressed remorse for going along with it. McHugh said: "You've got to be willing to stick up for what you believe in and what you believe is right and what you believe is wrong. And I think a lot of the guys on that team, including myself, are looking back now and wishing we had been as brave in the moment as we thought we were beforehand. To put myself in the shoes of the guys who pitched against us in 2017 and to know that our hitters made that job that much harder that year - it's hard to swallow. And I feel for them and I understand the anger and I understand when people are mad and pissed off."


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: While the investigation was ongoing, Molly Knight of "The Athletic" identified and attempted to contact nine pitchers who were demoted to the minors or designated for assignment immediately after a poor appearance against the Astros in 2017. Four pitchers agreed to be quoted anonymously; three put the blame for their fates on their own performance and a fourth saw the allegations as an explanation for why Astros players seemed to be more comfortable at the plate at home. The other five pitchers either could not be reached or declined to comment.


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Players publicly commented about the scandal during the offseason. Anger towards the Astros from fellow MLB players grew, especially as the scandal wore on. ESPN's Buster Olney reported that some Astros players had reached out to other players to assure them that they did not cheat, but that some of those friendships were fractured and there was "lots of anger" towards Astros players after the release of the report. Baseball Hall of Fame member Hank Aaron said the punishments did not fit the crime, adding, "I think whoever did that should be out of baseball for the rest of their lives." Pitcher Mike Clevinger said the Astros should be "ashamed" and, "I don't think any of those [expletive] should be able to look us in the eye."


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer was critical of the Astros and gave an eight-minute long answer to a question about the scandal. "I'm not going to let them forget the fact that they are hypocrites, they are cheaters, they've stolen from a lot of other people and the game itself," he said. Bauer had publicly accused the Astros of cheating before the scandal broke. Mike Trout, a three-time AL Most Valuable Player, said: "It's sad for baseball. It's tough. They cheated. I don't agree with the punishments, the players not getting anything. It was a player-driven thing." Trout said that a few members of the Astros talked to him personally about the scandal, but he said that he "lost some respect for some guys". Yankees player Aaron Judge said that the Astros should be forced to vacate their title and that the players involved should have been punished. On their 2017 World Series championship, he said: "I just don't think it holds any value with me. You cheated and you didn't earn it."


title: Houston Astros sign stealing scandal

text: On the other hand, retired Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martínez was critical of Fiers for exposing the scheme after he had left the Astros, saying, "Whatever happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse and Fiers broke the rules." Jessica Mendoza, an advisor to the Mets and ESPN commentator, also criticized Fiers for going public with his allegations. After being criticized herself for going after Fiers, Mendoza backtracked and said that she wished Fiers had made his allegations privately with MLB.