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First Night festivities underway on City Hall Plaza

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:31 GMT

Crews were hard at work preparing City Hall Plaza to host Boston’s First Night festivities as residents across the area gather to ring in the New Year.This year’s celebration has been moved to City Hall Plaza due to ongoing construction at Copley Square.The free and family-friendly event will feature performances, ice sculptures, fireworks, and more. The City is a partner of the New Year’s Eve event, which is formally run by Boston Celebrations, Inc, and managed by Conventures, Inc. All parties are taking steps to ensure public safety as Boston celebrates the New Year. “First Night is a beloved tradition in Boston and beyond, having created delightful experiences for neighborhood residents and visitors from around the world,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement. “Our newly renovated City Hall Plaza is the perfect venue to welcome families from all over to ring in the New Year. I encourage all our residents to celebrate safely as we welcome 2024.”N...

Patriots can’t overcome early turnovers in 27-21 loss to Bills

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:31 GMT

The Patriots started Week 17 with stunning offensive incompetence.Turnovers on four of their first possessions should have dug an insurmountable hole, but another impressive performance from Bill Belichick’s defense kept the Patriots in the game for the entire contest.The Patriots got things kicked off with a bang. Wide receiver Jalen Reagor returned the Bills’ opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. This is a good time to remind everyone that for weeks, the Patriots elected to have veteran running back/wide receiver Ty Montgomery return kicks over Reagor.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Tom Brady thought about unretiring in May before friends forced his hand? New England Patriots | Healthy-scratch Trent Brown has caused Patriots issues for weeks New England Patriots | Patriots make series of roster moves ahead of Week 17 matchup with Bills New England Patriots | Four Patriots players who can build off momentum...

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II to step down

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:31 GMT

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II announced Sunday that she plans to abdicate after 52 years and hand over the throne to her son, Crown Prince Frederik.The queen, who is Europe’s longest-reigning living monarch, announced during her New Year’s speech that she would step down on Jan. 14th, which is the anniversary of her own accession to the throne at age 31 following the death of her father, King Frederik IX.Margrethe, 83, said the back surgery she underwent in early 2023 led to “thoughts about the future” and when to pass on the responsibilities of the crown to her son. “I have decided that now is the right time,” she said in her speech.Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen paid tribute to her in a statement, offering a “heartfelt thank you to Her Majesty the Queen for her lifelong dedication and tireless efforts for the Kingdom.”Margrethe is the “epitome of Denmark” Frederiksen’s statement rea...

Suspects detained in Cologne Cathedral attack threat

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:31 GMT

BERLIN — Three more people were detained Sunday in connection with a reported threat of an attack on the Cologne Cathedral over the holidays, German authorities said.The detentions came only days after a 30-year-old Tajik man was detained in relation to an alleged plot to attack the world-famous cathedral by Islamic extremists in the western German city.The suspects were detained in the western cities of Duisburg, Herne and Dueren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and their apartments were also searched there. No details about their identities were released.All of the detained suspects — including the Tajik who was arrested last week — allegedly belong to a larger network that included people across Germany and in other European countries, according to Cologne police chief Johannes Hermanns, German news agency dpa reported.The attack was supposed to have been carried out with a car loaded with explosives, local media reported.Cologne police said in a Sunday news conference tha...

US Navy helicopters fire at Yemen’s Houthi rebels

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:31 GMT

BEIRUT — The U.S. military said Sunday that its forces opened fire on Houthi rebels after they attacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea, killing several of them in an escalation of the maritime conflict linked to the war in Gaza.In a series of statements, the U.S. Central Command said the crew of the USS Gravely destroyer first shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired at the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou late Saturday, after the vessel reported getting hit by a missile earlier that evening as it sailed through the Southern Red Sea.Four small boats then attacked the same cargo ship with small arms fire early Sunday and rebels tried to board the vessel, the U.S. Navy said.Next, the USS Gravely and helicopters from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier responded to the Maersk Hangzhou’s distress call and issued verbal warnings to the attackers, who responded by firing on the helicopters.“The U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense,” sinking...

Week 17 updates: Cole Kmet is active for the Chicago Bears and extends his consecutive games streak vs. the Atlanta Falcons

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:31 GMT

The 6-9 Chicago Bears are playing the 7-8 Atlanta Falcons at Soldier Field in a Week 17 matchup. Here’s what you need to know.Inactives announcedBears tight end Cole Kmet is active for Sunday’s game against the Falcons.Kmet dealt with a knee injury during the week and was listed as questionable. He never has missed a game in four seasons with the Bears, a streak of 65 straight entering Sunday.Bears center Lucas Patrick is also active after being listed as questionable with a knee issue. Left guard Teven Jenkins will return after clearing concussion protocol.Running back D’Onta Foreman, however, is inactive after practicing all week. The Bears will rely on Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson instead.As the Bears announced Friday, they will be without wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who is in concussion protocol. Linebacker DeMarquis Gates, safety Quindell Johnson, offensive lineman Ja’Tyre Carter and quarterback Nathan Peterman also are inactive. Peterman will se...

Senior military leader: Canadians ‘overly comfortable’ as global security shifts

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:31 GMT

OTTAWA — The Canadian Joint Operations Command had an exceptionally busy year in 2023, evacuating Canadians from two countries and deploying troops to areas devastated by wildfires, floods and disasters. CJOC commander Vice-Admiral Bob Auchterlonie says there’s increasing pressure on the Armed Forces to respond to crises in Canada and around the world. In 2023, the Armed Forces helped fight wildfires across the country for more than four months.  In a year-end interview, Auchterlonie said there will have to be tradeoffs as Canada sends more troops abroad and climate change continues to cause extreme weather at home.At the same time, he says he thinks Canadians are “overly comfortable” about their safety in a rapidly changing world. He says it’s becoming difficult to be a middle power as competition increases between major global players like the U.S., China and Russia.   This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 31, 2023.The Canadian Press

Surfer dies after shark “encounter” in Hawaii

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:31 GMT

PAIA, Hawaii (AP) — A surfer in Hawaii has died after being injured in a shark encounter off Maui’s northern shore, according to the Maui Police Department. Authorities stopped short of calling the event an attack and didn’t describe the man’s injuries.Ocean Safety Officers grabbed and transported the man by jet ski to shore, where responders performed life-saving measures until medical personnel arrived and took the victim to a hospital for further treatment, police said in a news release.The man’s identity was not immediately released pending the notification of extended family and friends. Authorities did say the man was from Haiku, a small community on Maui’s north side.There were no initial signs of foul play. The investigation is ongoing and an autopsy is scheduled, according to the police department. The man was injured on Paia Bay, near Haiku, and shark warning signs were placed on beaches one mile on either side of the bay, according to Hawaii&...

Former Ugandan steeplechase Olympian Benjamin Kiplagat found fatally stabbed in Kenya

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:31 GMT

ELDORET, Kenya (AP) — Police in Kenya are investigating the slaying of three-time Ugandan Olympian Benjamin Kiplagat, whose body was found with stab wounds inside his brother’s car on Sunday morning, a local official said. Kiplagat had been driving the car before his body was discovered in the vehicle on the outskirts of Eldoret, a town located 312 kilometers (163 miles) west of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, according to Stephen Okal, police commander from the nearby Moiben area.“This was murder, but we do not know the motive for now,” Okal said. As a long-distance runner, Kiplagat specialized in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. He represented Uganda in six World Athletics Championships and at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics.He reached the semi-finals of the 2012 London Olympics.Athletics Kenya official Barnabas Korir mourned the athlete’s death.“We urge the police to speed up investigations and … book his killers,” Korir said.The Associated Press

‘Wonka’ ends the year No. 1 at the box office, 2023 sales reach $9 billion in post-pandemic best

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Hollywood closed out an up and down 2023 with “Wonka” regaining No. 1 at the box office, strong sales for “The Color Purple” and an overall $9 billion in ticket sales that improved on 2022’s grosses but fell about $2 billion shy of pre-pandemic norms.The New Year’s weekend box office this year lacked a true blockbuster. (This time last year, “Avatar: The Way of Water” was inundating theaters.) Instead, a wide array of films – among them “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” “The Boys in the Boat,” “Migration,” “Ferrari,” “The Iron Claw” and “Anyone But You” – sought to break out over the year’s most lucrative box-office corridor.The top choice, though, remained “Wonka,” Paul King’s musical starring Timothée Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka. In its third weekend, the Warner Bros. release collected an estimated $24 million Friday through Sunday and $31.8 million factoring in estimates for the Monday holiday. That brings the film’s domestical total to $142.5 million.That beste...