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Rob Gronkowski gifts vehicles to military families ahead of Army-Navy game; Patriots legend still trying to become USAA member

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:12 GMT

Rob Gronkowski brought his classic hyped-up energy ahead of Saturday’s Army-Navy football game, and the excitement followed.For two military families, meeting the Patriots legend brought a big sense of relief.Gronk, in partnership with USAA, presented a 2022 Chevy Silverado to Army veteran Robert Trevino as well as a 2019 Chevy Blazer to Navy Petty Officer Kyle Kohlgraf during a high-spirited event that drew supporters from both military schools to Faneuil Hall on Friday.“Just to see their smiles on Robert and Kyle’s faces and their families’ faces is what it’s all about,” Gronkowski told reporters. “They are well deserved. They protected our freedom … It is great to honor them with these two vehicles.”Trevino served as a ground vehicle mechanic from 2014-2018 in the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas. In 2017, the sergeant suffered a spinal cord injury during a motor vehicle crash, resulting in paraplegia.The heavy duty pickup truck was retrofitted to accommodate Trevi...

Crowds and stars pay tribute to Pogues singer Shane MacGowan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:12 GMT

LONDON — Thousands of people lined the streets of Dublin on Friday to say goodbye to The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan as his coffin wound through the Irish capital before a small-town funeral attended by family, neighbors and friends including Johnny Depp and Nick Cave.MacGowan died Nov. 30 at the age of 65 after a lifetime of drinking, carousing and writing songs that fused Irish traditional music with the spirit of punk.He became an Irish cultural icon, and Ireland’s President Michael D. Higgins was among hundreds of people who packed St. Mary of the Rosary Church in the town of Nenagh for the funeral Mass.Mourners at the service, in MacGowan’s ancestral home county of Tipperary some 100 miles southwest of Dublin, included former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and Irish actor Aidan Gillen, who both gave readings. There was also a recorded reading from Bono of U2. Depp, a friend of the musician, was among those who helped lead the prayers.Father Pat Gilbert welcomed ...

What to watch: Yorgos Lanthimos at his unearthly best with ‘Poor Things,’ starring Emma Stone

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:12 GMT

Buckle up, movie fans: You’re in for one wild ride this week.Just consider what awaits you: Emma Stone turns into a twitchy Frankenstein-like creature with a hardy sexual appetite; a flock of evil gargantuan parakeets terrorize in Hayao Miyazaki’s latest animated fable; and a mysterious, life-altering event turns mild-mannered deer into menacing creatures that freak out Julia Roberts.Here’s our roundup, but a word of advice. It’s best to keep a mind wide open while viewing.“Poor Things”: Yorgos Lanthimos will never be accused of coasting on his laurels and playing it safe. The Greek filmmaker all but gobsmacked audiences with “The Lobster,” “The Favorite” and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” and he relishes coloring way outside of conventional narrative lines. And frankly contemporary modern cinema is better for it. His latest is true to form, and is as warped, brilliant and brazenly deluded as the legendary creator that it creatively tips its hat to — Baron von Frankenstein. Mary She...

19 North Atlantic right whales get new names: Jagger, Kermit, Marilyn Monroe, Waldo among group

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:12 GMT

Move over Mick Jagger. There’s a new star in town.“Jagger” the whale is one of 19 North Atlantic right whales that have new names, as New England Aquarium scientists unveiled a slate of named whales to help researchers identify the critically endangered animals out in the ocean.Every right whale in the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog has a number assigned to them, and many of these whales have also been given names that help scientists more easily recognize the whales.Even for a small population of just 356 individuals, remembering numbers for each whale can be tough so names make it easier. This year, 19 right whales were assigned names.“Whale naming is a fun change of pace for those of us studying a species in peril,” said Amy Warren, an assistant research scientist in the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium. “It allows us to be creative in looking at a whale’s unique appearance and experiences and often res...

25 must-read books published in 2023 by independent presses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:12 GMT

This year saw more than its share of bestselling, headline-making books, from memoirs by Prince Harry, Britney Spears and Jada Pinkett Smith to blockbuster novels by Zadie Smith, R.F. Kuang and Rebecca Yarros.But there’s more to contemporary literature than the bestseller lists. Independent presses – which, as you know, we love – had a great 2023, putting out exciting books across all genres, some of which flew under the radar, but deserve audiences of their own. If you’re looking for your next great read — or a book for someone on your holiday shopping list — consider picking up one of these titles from 25 of the most vital indie presses in the country. And if you buy from your local independent bookstore, so much the better.“Personal Best: Makers on Their Poems that Matter Most,” edited by Erin Belieu and Carl Phillips (Copper Canyon Press):Publisher Copper Canyon has been a boldface name in the poetry world for more than 50 years. Think of this like a mixtape (or a playlist, for ...

Ticker: Mao-signed menu brings big bucks; Starbucks proposes restarting union talks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:12 GMT

An official menu for a state banquet that bears the signature of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong has been auctioned for $275,000.Boston-based RR Auction said the menu auctioned Wednesday was for a banquet held in Beijing on October 19, 1956, and commemorated the first state visit to China by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.The menu was signed in fountain pen by six influential Chinese statesmen, including Mao and Premier Zhou Enlai. The banquet featured foods from both nations and included delicacies such as “Consommé of Swallow Nest and White Agaric,” “Shark’s Fin in Brown Sauce,” and “Roast Peking Duck.”“To hold a menu signed by Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai is to hold a piece of the past – a piece that tells a story of diplomatic engagement, cultural exchange, and the forging of friendships that have endured through the decades,” Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction, said in a stateme...

Mexican immigration agents detain 2 Iranians who they say were under observation by the FBI

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:12 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s immigration agency said Friday its agents have detained two Iranians who they say were under observation by the FBI.The National Immigration Institute did not say what the supposed FBI investigation was about.The agency said a total of five Iranians were detained along with their Haitian driver, who was apparently acting as their guide on a highway between the Baja California border cities of Tijuana and Tecate on Wednesday.It said their car was stopped at a toll booth because agents suspected they were going to try to cross into the United States.The agency said two of the Iranians were “under observation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.” The FBI did not immediately confirm the information.____Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-americaThe Associated Press

Quebec man arrested in killing of child at home daycare northeast of Montreal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:12 GMT

MONTREAL — A 34-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the death of a toddler who was found seriously injured at a home daycare this week northeast of Montreal.Quebec provincial police say the suspect, from Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Que., was arrested today for what police are now calling a homicide.A spokesperson for the Crown prosecutors office did not have information about charges.On Tuesday, police responded to a call about a child under the age of three with serious injuries at a home daycare in L’Assomption, Que.The toddler died hours later in hospital.Detectives met with numerous witnesses and an autopsy was ordered.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2023. The Canadian Press

Ukraine’s human rights envoy calls for a faster way to bring back children deported by Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:12 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman voiced hope Friday that a coalition of countries formed to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia will be able to come up with a faster mechanism to repatriate them. Over 19,000 children are still believed to be in Russia or in occupied regions of Ukraine.Dmytro Lubinets spoke to reporters following the first meeting of the National Coalition of Countries for the Return of Ukrainian Children, which was formed based on a recommendation by Canada, in Kyiv.He said Russia continues to deport Ukrainian children to the territories it controls, citing information his office has received. This effort earlier this year prompted the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his envoy for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.Judges at the ICC said they found “reasonable grounds to believe” the two were responsible for war crimes, including the ille...

Saskatchewan’s methane emissions underestimated, rate of releases high: research

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:12 GMT

New research suggests Saskatchewan’s oilpatch emits a potent greenhouse gas at a higher rate than almost anywhere else in North America. Matt Johnson of Carleton University’s Energy and Emissions Research Lab says Saskatchewan’s methane emissions have fallen in recent years. But he says most of that drop seems to have come from production cuts, not industry improvements.Worse, his research concludes that about 2.6 per cent of natural gas produced in the province leaks into the atmosphere, where it warms the climate about 80 times that of carbon dioxide. That rate is well above what is allowed in proposed American and European regulations. Johnson says it doesn’t make sense to talk about percentage declines in methane emissions because old measurements are unreliable.Like his previous research in Alberta and British Columbia, it finds methane emissions are underestimated by about 50 per cent.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2023.Th...