BOSTON (AP) — Ted Williams’ Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was presented to him by fellow World War II naval aviator George H.W. Bush, is among the items up for auction from the memorabilia collection of the ballplayer’s daughter.
The medal is expected to fetch $25,000-$50,000. Other lots include Williams’ 1946 AL Most Valuable Player Award and the silver baseball bat he earned for winning the AL batting title in 1958 (both estimated to go for $150,000-$300,000).
The items in the auction belonged to the Hall of Famer and had been held by his daughter, Claudia, who died in December. A first batch of items from the collection went up for auction in 2012 at Fenway Park and garnered more than $5 million.
Also included in the auction was the “hitter.net” hat that Williams wore for a pregame ceremony at the 1999 All-Star Game in Boston, when the current players were so eager to meet him that they had to be told to let him leave the field so the game could begin.
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FILE - President George W. Bush, right, presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to baseball great Ted Williams as Barbara Bush ties the medal around his neck Monday, Nov. 18, 1991, at a White House ceremony in Washington. (AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander, File)
HONG KONG (AP) — The mastermind behind a foiled bomb plot during anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019 has been jailed for nearly 24 years in the city's first case brought under a United Nations anti-terrorism law.
Ng Chi-hung, who had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit the bombing of prescribed objects under the anti-terror law and possession of arms or ammunition with intent to endanger life, was sentenced to 23 years and 10 months by a Hong Kong court on Thursday.
He was among seven convicted defendants who appeared in court for their roles in the plot to plant two bombs and shoot officers along a rally route on Dec. 8, 2019, during a time when accusations of police brutality in handling protesters were widespread.
The seven are not well-known activists in the semi-autonomous Chinese city’s pro-democracy movement, but their case has drawn attention because the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance was invoked.
Hong Kong enacted the law to implement a U.N. Security Council resolution passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
According to local media, prosecutors said most of the defendants in the case were members of two groups — one led by Ng and another called “Dragon Slaying Brigade." The prosecution said members of the brigade planned to lure police officers onto an area where bombs would be detonated and a sniper would target them.
Wong Chun-keung, leader of the brigade, was sentenced to more than 13 years. Five other defendants received prison terms ranging from nearly six years to 12 years.
In August, six other defendants, who had pleaded not guilty, were acquitted by a panel of jurors.
The 2019 protests marked the most concerted challenge to the Hong Kong government since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Following the protests, more than 10,000 people have been arrested in connection with the often-violent social unrest sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill, which would have allowed suspects in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China.
FILE - Pro-democracy protesters march on a street during a protest in Hong Kong, on Dec. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
