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Local stages boast a bounty of summer theater delights

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:52 GMT

This summer theater season features military commanders – both cute and terrifying. It will have romances – both cute and silly. It will have blood lust and old fashioned love, cults of personality and cults of plants, and loads of explorations on how and why societies go wrong. From dance to Shakespeare to “Do-Re-Mi,” Massachusetts summer stages have so much to offer.“Rooted,” the Lyric Stage, now through June 25We’ve all done it. Accidentally start a cult, that is. Emery Harris is a loner living in a treehouse with her plants. Emery’s only contact to the outside world is her sister, Hazel, and her plant-centric YouTube channel. But when Emery’s channel goes viral and the citizens of her small town come to view her as a botanical messiah, she is forced to confront the public. Lyricstage.com“Private Lives,” Gloucester Stage, Gloucester, now through June 25Noël Coward’s 1930 play begins with ex-husband and wife discovering they picked the same French hotel to honeymoon with their new...

Dear Abby: BF has zero plans for financial future

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:52 GMT

Dear Abby: My husband died three years ago, and I met someone shortly after. This man is kind and loving, and he treats me well. He happily moved with me to another state to be near my family. I’m 67, and he is 63. I’m retired, and hopefully have enough to live on for the rest of my life, although as everyone knows, anything can happen.My concern is that this man gives his two children so much money every month that there’s none left over to help with any of our household expenses. He knows he will have to wean them off financially before he retires. I’m loath to ask him to stop, because I don’t want to lose him over this issue. However, I didn’t budget having to support him for the rest of my life.He hasn’t saved any money for his retirement. When I’ve asked why he sends them all his money, he says that when he and their mom divorced, it upset them and he feels guilty (it has been 18 years!), or when he gets old and senile, they’...

Youth environmentalists bring Montana climate case to trial after 12 years, seeking to set precedent

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:52 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Whether a constitutional right to a healthy, livable climate is protected by state law is at the center of a lawsuit going to trial Monday in Montana, where 16 young plaintiffs and their attorneys hope to set an important legal precedent.It’s the first trial of its kind in the U.S., and legal scholars around the world are following its potential addition to the small number of rulings that have established a government duty to protect citizens from climate change.The trial comes shortly after the state’s Republican-dominated Legislature passed measures favoring the fossil fuel industry by stifling local government efforts to encourage renewable energy while increasing the cost to challenge oil, gas and coal projects in court.By enlisting plaintiffs ranging in age from 5 to 22, the environmental firm bringing the lawsuit is trying to highlight how young people are harmed by climate change now and will be further affected in the future. Their testimony...

Smokestack implosion to bring decades of Detroit trash incinerator stink to an end

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:52 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The looming smokestack of a shuttered trash incinerator whose stench sickened and angered Detroit residents for decades is coming down in a controlled implosion scheduled for Sunday morning.The plan to reduce the smokestack to rubble is almost the final phase in the facility’s yearlong demolition, which should be completed by July, according to the city.The facility has stood near the interchange of Interstates 94 and 75 for more than 30 years, just a few miles northeast of downtown Detroit. Before closing in 2021, fumes and the rank odor of burning trash could be smelled for miles, but were strongest for residents of nearby streets, raising concerns about pollution and the impact on residents’ health.The approximately 330-foot-tall (100-meter-tall) incinerator operated by Detroit Renewable Energy opened in 1989. Up to 5,000 tons (4,535 metric tons) of trash were burned there per day.“The presence of this incinerator has been a real pain point for this com...

Julien Alfred powers Texas women to track national championship

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:52 GMT

Julien Alfred, one of the most dominant athletes in the history of Texas Track and Field, had accomplished so much in her career but didn't have a team outdoor national championship to her name. That is until Saturday.The Longhorns women's team, who hosted the event at Mike A. Myers Stadium, claimed the 2023 National Championship for the first time since 2005. The hosts won with a dominant 83 points, 32 clear of Florida in second place. Alfred helped power Texas to gold as a team in the 4x100 meter relay. The graduate student also finished first in the 100 meter and 200 meter races."What a way to end," said Alfred about her college career. "I came here at 17, finished my final race at 22. And I'm proud of myself, proud of my team...I'm so happy. I'm so grateful."Alfred noted how the team title was the perfect way to go out. While she was a big contributor, a number of teammates were key as well. Rhasidat Adeleke made a huge splash winning the 400 meter."I was coming on off the home ...

Video captures family of coyote pups playing outside L.A. home

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:52 GMT

A Southern California homeowner received an adorable surprise as a family of coyote pups spent some quality time together outside of his home.Security video captures an adult coyote appearing on the driveway followed closely by a litter of pups as they convene for playtime in Montecito Heights.The video was taken early Saturday morning just after midnight. The homeowner tells KTLA the coyotes had built a den at the bottom of his yard. Home security video captures a family of coyote pups playing together outside a Montecito Heights home on June 10, 2023. (Ricky Green)As the coyote parent patiently awaits the children outside, the feisty, energetic pups are seen leaving the den one by one. Just when you think enough pups have appeared, even more continue strolling outside until all seven kids are finally together.Under the parent’s watchful eye, the pups are seen darting around, exploring and play-tackling each other.The spirited pups are left to play around for a bit before it’s...

College baseball Super Regional: Stanford’s stunning collapse lets Texas steal Game 1

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:52 GMT

STANFORD — All Stanford needed was three more outs to win Game 1 of the college baseball Super Regional against Texas.Instead, it got a jaw-dropping collapse in the top of Saturday’s ninth inning, which started with a three-run Stanford lead.First came two walks and a hit-by-pitch as closer Ryan Bruno loaded the bases. He was then yanked by coach David Esquer in favor of freshman Matt Scott.When the righthander got light-hitting nine-hole hitter Mitchell Daly to fly out to right, he got no help from his team.Right fielder Saborn Campbell muffed the running catch when center fielder Eddie Park flashed in front of him, committing the most notable of Stanford’s three errors and allowing two runs to score.A groundout drove in another, and after a couple of walks loaded the bases again, Texas left fielder Porter Brown completed the comeback.He laced the ball into right field, dropping the pitch right in front of Campbell and driving in two more Texas runs.“Coach s...

Florida, TCU clinch College World Series bids; Wake Forest, Virginia, Texas, Oral Roberts, LSU win

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:52 GMT

Florida and TCU clinched spots in the College World Series on Saturday and Wake Forest moved within a win of becoming the first No. 1 national seed to make the final eight of the NCAA Tournament since 2018.Oral Roberts and Virginia forced winner-take-all Game 3s in their super regionals, and LSU and Texas won their openers.The No. 2 Gators got a career-best performance from Hurston Waldrep and finished a two-game sweep of Southeastern Conference rival South Carolina with a 4-0 win. They’ll make their 13th appearance in the CWS — which begins Friday in Omaha, Nebraska — and eighth in 16 seasons under Kevin O’Sullivan.“Just happy to have the opportunity to experience this,” O’Sullivan said. “Getting to Omaha is goal number one, but we feel like we have a team that can potentially do some special things in Omaha.”TCU swept Indiana State with a 6-4 victory and will go into the CWS with wins in 11 straight games and 17 of 18.Wake Forest opened its super regional with a ...

Teofimo Lopez beats Josh Taylor by unanimous decision, wins 140-pound title

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Teofimo Lopez captured a title in a second weight class Saturday night, beating formerly unbeaten Josh Taylor by unanimous decision to win the WBO’s junior welterweight belt.Lopez, the former lightweight champion, hadn’t looked sharp lately after moving up to 140 pounds. But he delivered a superb performance inside Madison Square Garden, with punches that were just quicker and stronger than the champion’s.Lopez (19-1) won by scores of 115-113 on two of the cards and 117-111 on the other, and he threw power shots throughout the final round in hopes of not even getting to the scorecards.Coming off a split decision victory last December that was so unimpressive that he was caught on camera afterward asking if he still had it, Lopez showed that he most definitely still does. He looked like the fighter who had won multiple versions of the title at 135 pounds, highlighed by a victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko, before losing them to George Kambosos Jr. in No...

Correa’s 2nd career grand slam keys 7-run 8th, Twins beat Blue Jays 9-4

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:10:52 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — Carlos Correa hit his second career grand slam, Max Kepler and Trevor Larnach also homered and the Minnesota Twins scored seven runs in the eighth inning to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-4 Saturday.Minnesota, which leads the AL Central with a 33-32 record, scored seven runs its previous five games.“We needed that as a team,” Correa said of the seven-run outburst. “We needed to put great at bats together like that. We’ve been waiting for that for the past week. It came at the right time.”Newly promoted Edouard Julien reached base three times and Donovan Solano had three hits as the Twins won for the 13th time in their past 17 games at Rogers Centre. Minnesota has homered in 16 consecutive games in Canada.Jorge López (2-2) pitched a one-hit seventh as the Twins won their second straight after a five-game skid.Adam Cimber (0-2) lost for the second straight day, giving up six runs and five hits while getting just one out.“It’s a bunt single and a broken-bat single, and thi...