Travel warning prompts Ripken to halt Nicaragua clinics

MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. is suspending his baseball clinics for Nicaraguan youth because the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for the country.

The U.S. Embassy says Ripken suspended this week's clinics in Leon after leftist Sandinista party supporters clashed Sunday with opposition supporters over the Nov. 9 municipal elections. Two people were shot.

Since last week, Ripken and Nicaraguan native Dennis Martinez have provided baseball instruction to 300 children and 60 youth coaches in Managua and Granada. The two played together on the Baltimore Orioles.

Ripken is an American Public Diplomacy Envoy for the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.