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Boston Public Schools name new Boston Arts Academy building art educator, local pioneer Dr. Elma Lewis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:25 GMT

Boston officials gathered Wednesday to officially name a new building for the Boston Arts Academy after art educator and local pioneer Dr. Elma Lewis. The event marked the official opening of the school’s new building and served to honor Lewis’ legacy. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was in attendance at the school, speaking about Lewis and the effect she had on young artists. “Dr. Lewis was adamant about ensuring that young Black artists had the same opportunities to not only hone their skills and expand their repertoire, but to share those gifts with the world and to be celebrated for them,” Wu said. The Boston Arts Academy was founded 25 years ago. In a statement, the Boston Public Schools said the school’s new building includes renovated technology for dance, fashion and fine art studios in addition to theaters, rehearsal spaces and a STEAM lab.Lewis won hundreds of art awards and received nearly 30 honorary degrees over her career, including two MacArthur Genius Fellow ...

Cohasset students speak with astronaut aboard the ISS

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:25 GMT

Students in Cohasset had a conversation that was out of this world Wednesday when they spoke with an astronaut from their hometown who is currently aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen took a break from his work on the SpaceX Crew-6 mission to talk to students in the Cohasset Public Schools. “It’s just a really wonderful place to grow up,” he said of Cohasset. “It was a great place to be from and the opportunities provided by the schools themselves is absolutely incredible.”From a Cohasset hockey player to a man in space, Bowen defied the odds. At Wednesday’s event, young students got the opportunity to ask him questions. “What does it feel like in zero gravity?” one student asked.“It never gets old to float,” Bowen responded, later adding “It feels great, actually.”Bowen was born in Cohasset and graduated from Cohasset High School in 1982. He has since served as a U.S. Navy captain and an astronaut, flying several missions to space.&n...

Tina Turner defied boundaries as Queen of Rock n’ Roll

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:25 GMT

Standing on stage in Holland in 1971, Tina Turner tells the crowd, “You know, every now and then I think you might like to hear something from us nice and easy. But there’s just one thing, you see, we never ever do nothing nice and easy. We always do it nice and rough. So we’re gonna take the beginning of this song and do it easy. Then we’re gonna do the finish rough.”Then Tina launches into what is arguably the roughest, rawest, greatest performance in the history of rock, soul and pop.In high heels and an impossibly short skirt, Tina shakes and shimmies, frantic feet moving a mile-a-minute while she shouts out “Proud Mary” in the voice that earned her the title the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll.The high voltage performance captured on video brings to mind the fact that Tina did a dozen numbers this electric in a single night, and she did them night after night, sometimes twice a night. She did them in the ’60s while living a nightmare backstage with the abusive and loathsome Ike Tu...

Tina Turner, ‘Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ whose triumphant career made her world-famous, dies at 83

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:25 GMT

By HILLEL ITALIE (AP National Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Tina Turner, the unstoppable singer and stage performer who teamed with husband Ike Turner for a dynamic run of hit records and live shows in the 1960s and ‘70s and survived her horrifying marriage to triumph in middle age with the chart-topping “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” has died at 83.Turner died Tuesday, after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, according to her manager. She became a Swiss citizen a decade ago. Few stars traveled so far — she was born Anna Mae Bullock in a segregated Tennessee hospital and spent her latter years on a 260,000 square foot estate on Lake Zurich — and overcame so much. Physically battered, emotionally devastated and financially ruined by her 20-year relationship with Ike Turner, she became a superstar on her own in her 40s, at a time when most of her peers were on their way down, and remained a top concert draw for years after....

McCarthy says debt ceiling standoff ‘not my fault,’ as White House warns of economic risks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:25 GMT

By LISA MASCARO and STEPHEN GROVES (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — A defiant House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday the debt ceiling standoff was “not my fault” as he sent Republican negotiators to the White House to finish out talks, but warned the two sides need more time as they try to reach a budget deal with President Joe Biden.McCarthy said he remained optimistic they could reach an agreement before a deadline as soon as next week, when the Treasury Department could run out of cash to pay its bills. Financial markets are teetering as Washington edges closer to a debt default crisis that would be unprecedented in modern times, sending shockwaves around the globe.The White House blamed the Republicans led by McCarthy for risking a devastating default that would hit “every single part of the country” as they demand “extreme” spending cuts that would hurt millions of Americans. “We’re not going to default,” McCar...

Pete Alonso’s hot streak puts him on pace for 60 homers: ‘I just feel like I’m in a really good spot’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:25 GMT

The Mets lost a very forgettable game Tuesday night at Wrigley Field but Pete Alonso’s 18th home run of the season shouldn’t be forgotten, if for no reason other than it set his pace for the season at 60.The 2019 NL Rookie of the Year and the two-time All-Star continues to lead the league in homers and has hit seven of them at Wrigley Field in his career. This ties him with Mark McGwire and Prince Fielder for the second-most all-time in a hitter’s first 12 games at the friendly confines.“I just think it’s a great place to play,” Alonso said Tuesday after the Mets fell 7-2 to the Chicago Cubs in the first game of a three-game series. “There’s a lot of history here. For me as a fan of the game, I think it’s a really cool place to play with a lot of history. It’s really an honor to be here and it’s a fun place to play.”This echoes what he said last month about playing in Dodger Stadium, another historic park where ...

States sue telecom over billions of robocalls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:25 GMT

PHOENIX  — Attorneys general across the U.S. joined in a lawsuit against a telecommunications company accused of making more than 7.5 billion robocalls to people on the national Do Not Call Registry.The 141-page lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Phoenix against Avid Telecom, its owner Michael D. Lansky and company vice president Stacey S. Reeves. It seeks a jury trial to determine damages.The lawsuit arises from the nationwide, bipartisan Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force of 51 attorneys general and the District of Columbia.Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said nearly 197 million of the robocalls were made to Arizona phone numbers between December 2018 and January 2023.“Every day, countless Arizona consumers are harassed and annoyed by a relentless barrage of unwanted robocalls — and in some instances these illegal calls threaten consumers with lawsuits and arrest,” Mayes said in a statement. “More disturbingly, many of these calls are...

Harvard Pilgrim patients’ Social Security numbers may have been stolen in cyberattack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:25 GMT

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care patients’ sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers, may have been stolen as officials continue to investigate a cybersecurity ransomware incident from several weeks ago.The local health care giant has now started contacting individuals whose information might have been copied and taken from the Harvard Pilgrim systems.“While we are not aware of any misuse of personal information and protected health information as a result of the incident, out of an abundance of caution, Harvard Pilgrim is offering complimentary access to two years of credit monitoring and identity theft protection services through IDX to potentially impacted individuals,” Point32Health, the parent organization of Harvard Pilgrim and Tufts Health Plan, wrote in an update.“We also recommend that individuals remain vigilant, monitor, and review their financial and account statements and explanations of benefits, and report any unusual activit...

Scratchers ticket worth $1M sold in Chula Vista

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:25 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- A man added fortune to his morning cup of coffee on a lucky morning in Chula Vista.According to the California Lottery, Nabi Hasani said "he couldn’t believe his eyes" after staring down at a $10 "The Perfect Gift" Scratchers ticket worth a whopping $1 million. Man killed in Chula Vista crash Hasani purchased the ticket at an Arco ampm minimart located at 407 East Street in Chula Vista while making a stop for a cup of Joe. “It was just a random pick. I asked the cashier if it was true that I won,” Hasani told the California Lottery. “I still went home and showed my children and asked them to confirm it, too.”Hasani was tasked with uncovering a box showing a bell and the $1,000,000 figure. He was given 20 chances and says his luck turned when he had only three boxes left to scratch off. Box 17 delivered, revealing his big bucks victory. A winning Scratchers ticket purchased in Chula Vista, Calif. is pictured, (Image: California Lottery)The Californ...

Canada, Saudi Arabia restore full diplomatic ties, appoint envoys after 2018 spat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:25 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada and Saudi Arabia are normalizing diplomatic relations and appointing ambassadors five years after the Liberal government’s public comments on women’s rights led Riyadh to expel the top Canadian envoy.In 2018, Global Affairs Canada tweeted that it wanted Saudi Arabia to “immediately release” human-rights activists who had been detained.Both countries maintained their embassies, but Saudi Arabia downgraded its presence in Ottawa and halted trade talks with Canada, saying it was unacceptable for the Canadians to weigh in on Saudi Arabia’s justice system.Global Affairs Canada said in a statement Wednesday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed during a chat last November that they wanted to restore diplomatic relations.The department said this discussion took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok.At the time, reporters noted Trudeau had attended a lunch...