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Republican Rep. Peter Durant declares victory in Senate special Republican primary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:17 GMT

State Rep. Peter Durant declared victory Tuesday night in a Republican special primary election for a central Massachusetts Senate seat that was vacated earlier this year by Anne Gobi, who left the Legislature to serve in the Healey administration.Unofficial election results streamed in as soon as polls closed at 8 p.m. and Durant told the Herald he was declaring victory just before 10 p.m., saying it was “statistically impossible” for his Republican challenger, Bruce Chester, to make up the difference in votes according to unofficial results from town clerks.The one Democrat in the race, Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik, faced no challenger in his primary and swiftly moved on to the Nov. 7 general election, where he is poised to face off against Durant, a House colleague.Durant said people are upset about gun rights and the cost of living in Massachusetts.“And this just proves that the guy from the small town can make a big impact. So we’re very happy with tonight’s results. I thi...

‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ will be a blockbuster – and might shake up the movie business

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:17 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Greg Marcus has been in the movie business for years but he never expected to be urging moviegoers to take out their phones during a film — let alone to be crafting friendship bracelets in preparation for an opening weekend.But there the chief executive and chair of the Marcus Corporation is in a promotion for his theater chain headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, stringing beads together while humming “Shake It Off.”Movie theaters are readying for an onslaught like they’ve never seen before, beginning Friday when “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” debuts. The concert film, compiled from several Swift shows at Southern California’s SoFi Stadium, is expected to launch with $100 million, or possibly more. Advance ticket sales worldwide have already surpassed $100 million. Swifties will descend. Dancing will be encouraged.“This is different,” says Marcus. “Take your phone out. Take selfies. Dance, sing, get up, have a good time. We want to create an atmosphere.”Concert fil...

Author and activist Louise Meriwether, who wrote the novel ‘Daddy Was a Number Runner,’ dies at 100

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:17 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Louise Meriwether, the author and activist whose coming-of-age novel “Daddy Was a Number Runner” is widely regarded as a groundbreaking and vital portrait of race, gender and class, has died. She was 100. Meriwether died Tuesday at the Amsterdam Nursing Home in Manhattan, according to Cheryl Hill, a filmmaker who said she is part of the author’s “extended family.” The cause was old age, Hill said. “Daddy Was a Number Runner,” published in 1970, tells of a poor Black community in Harlem during the 1930s as seen through the eyes of 12-year-old Francie Coffin. The narrative is a grim panorama of gangs, gambling, confrontations with the police and endless worrying about money. But it is also a testament to the human spirit, whether Francie’s growing consciousness of her sexuality or the tenuous bond she feels as she looks out on the street life of Harlem.“I wanted to hug them all,” Francie thinks to herself. “We belon...

New Mexico governor defends approach to attempted gun restrictions, emergency order on gun violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:17 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday defended her decision to treat gun violence as a public health epidemic, citing statistics on recent firearms seizures, reduced reports of gunfire in the Albuquerque metro area and an uptick in jail bookings, while awaiting a crucial court ruling on a signature effort to suspend gun-carry rights in public parks and playgrounds.The governor last week extended an emergency public health order regarding gun violence an additional 30 days into early November. A federal judge has temporarily blocked provisions that suspended the right to carry guns in public parks, playgrounds and other areas where children recreate, setting a Wednesday deadline for a ruling on whether to indefinitely block the restrictions while several court challenges are resolved.Lujan Grisham appeared at the news conference alongside Cabinet secretaries not only for New Mexico’s Public Safety and Corrections departments but also child welfare se...

Some Joliet Township residents frustrated over asylum seeker grant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:17 GMT

JOLIET TOWNSHIP, Ill. — Residents of Joliet Township packed Tuesday night's board meeting after the township received the State of Illinois Asylum Seeker Grant.Some of the residents were outraged and angered over what some said was a lack of involvement. ‘Tough decisions need to be made:’ Community activists grow louder over City’s stance on migrant crisis The $8.6 million grant issued to Joliet Township helps fund municipalities that are welcoming asylum seekers."Where was the representation from the very communities this is going to affect?" Rev. Larry Ellis asked.Township Supervisor Angel Contreras said the issues were discussed at a meeting in September. "The inclusion of the City of Joliet and Joliet Fire Department logos was an overnight, however, both institutions were involved about the grant meeting, a meeting that took place at City Hall and that has been documented," Contreras said. The mayor of Joliet, which operates independently from the township, asked the township ...

Weather to deteriorate — wind, rain and sporadic thunder to sweep into Chicago with autumn storm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:17 GMT

Multi-day rainfall through this weekend looks to be heaviest in 3+ monthsWGN WEATHER HEADLINESFROSTY MORNING AWAY FROM THE CITY TUESDAYChicago logs its coolest morning minimum temp since early MayTemperatures bottomed out at 42 at O'Hare and interestingly 40 at Midway — the coolest city temps of the season and in the 5 months since early May this past spring.It's not every day Midway's low temp comes in below O'Hare's — but it happened Tuesday morning. The normal Chicago low temp Oct 10th is 48 degrees, and a check of weather records back to 1871 shows fewer than a third of Oct 10s have been as cool in the city. Just 44 of the past 153 years have produced a minimum temperature of 42 degrees or lower. This morning's 42 at O'Hare makes it the coolest Oct 10 low temperature in 8 years since 2014.A CLASSIC AUTUMN STORM SPINNING UP IN THE DAYS AHEADWe have a classic autumn storm spinning up in the days ahead — the product in part of a powerhouse jet stream-level WIND MAX analyzed this (T...

The winner of Fat Bear Week 2023 is...

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:17 GMT

(WTAJ) — The results are in, and the 2023 Fat Bear Champion has been crowned.Grazer tipped the scale this year to claim the crown. Through some dedicated fan voting, she's the first female to ever claim this title. You go girl!Runner-up Chunk is an adult male who was first identified in 2007. In 2023, he's among Brooks River's most dominant males. Chunk and Grazer, who call Brooks River in Katmai National Park in Alaska home, were the top competitors this year when the final face-off took place on Tuesday, Oct. 10. About the championGrazer is an adult female who was first seen at the river in 2005 as a cub. Grazer is a particularly defensive mother bear who has successfully raised two litters of cubs. She often preemptively confronts and attacks much larger bears, even large and dominant adult males, in order to ensure her cubs are safe. The competition began on Oct. 4 with 12 big bears competing against each other for the coveted crown of Fat Bear Week 2023. While it was ...

Loaded gun found in pizza box during traffic stop in California, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:17 GMT

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- California deputies found a pizza topped with pepperoni, cheese, sausage and a loaded handgun during a routine traffic stop early Tuesday morning, according to authorities. The Kern County Sheriff's Office said deputies pulled over a vehicle for simple code violations around 3:00 a.m. in Rosamond, located about 74 miles southeast of Bakersville. During the stop, deputies said they found a sawed-off shotgun, two handguns (one of them concealed inside the pizza box), methamphetamine, Xanax, cocaine and fentanyl. Domino’s is giving away free ‘Emergency Pizza’: Here is how to get it They also found cash, scales, drug paraphernalia and packaging, according to the sheriff's office. Deputies said the driver, 47-year-old Danny Carson, had a misdemeanor warrant and was on post-release community supervision for weapons violations. Carson was arrested along with three passengers who deputies said were in the vehicle: 18-year-old Saydee Vandehey, 30-year-old Kris...

Central Texas man says family members seized by Hamas militants in Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Right now, Dori Roberts' phone is his lifeline as he clings to any new word of the whereabouts of his family members in Israel."You're hopeless, you're helpless there's nothing you can do, there's not a button you can push," he said. His aunts and cousins leave near the Gaza strip. They're the ones he's barely heard from since Hamas militants launched a surprise attack Saturday. Dori Roberts shared his story about trying to track down family members in Israel. (KXAN photo/Brianna Hollis)Roberts said other family in Israel - who live further from Gaza - told him the militants took his aunt's partner first, while his aunt and cousins sheltered in place."The next thing we know, the militants come back and pick up the girls. My aunt, my cousin in the two little girls," he said. Moments before Roberts sat down to speak with us, he got a call from his brother in Israel with an update on his aunt's partner."He was seen alive by a reporter in Gaza Strip. We have a picture t...

Amber Alert issued for 2 Tyler girls reportedly taken by armed, 'mentally unstable' father

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:17 GMT

TYLER, Texas (KETK) - An Amber Alert has been issued by the Tyler Police Department for two Tyler girls.The girls are identified as 7-year-old Audrey Lee and 9-year-old Ella Lee. Police said at approximately 6 p.m. the girls' father, Chase Lee, took them from their home located on the 8400 block of Cambridge after reportedly committing an aggravated assault on their mother.Audrey Lee. Picture Courtesy of Tyler Police.Ella Lee. Picture Courtesy of Tyler Police.Chase Lee. Picture Courtesy of Tyler Police.Chase Lee reportedly left the home armed with a pistol in a white Chevrolet Avalanche with the license plate number DXV6695. Police said Chase is reportedly mentally unstable.Audrey has brown curly hair, freckles and blue eyes and was last seen wearing a mustard colored shirt and light blue jeans with holes in the knee area.Ella has brown hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing a tan shirt with black lettering, black shorts and baby blue high-top converse shoes."Their location is u...