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7.7 magnitude earthquake in far Pacific creates tsunami threat for Vanuatu, other islands

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:11:10 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A 7.7 magnitude quake Friday in the far Pacific may threaten a tsunami for several islands.The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake Friday was near the Loyalty Islands. It was 37 kilometers (23 miles) deep.That is southwest of Fiji, north of New Zealand and east of Australia where the Coral Sea meets the Pacific.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves up to 3 meters (10 feet) were possible for Vanuatu.New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency said it was still assessing the potential for a tsunami.The PTWC said waves up to 1 meter (3 feet) above the tides were possible for Fiji, New Caledonia, Kiribati and New Zealand.Smaller waves were possible in Papua New Guinea, Guam and other Pacific islands.

Local Haitian leaders honored in opening ceremony of Haitian Compas Festival in downtown Miami

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:11:10 GMT

Several local Haitian leaders were honored in downtown Miami at a special festival kick-off event.The Haitian Compas Festival on Thursday night celebrated 25 years with their Living Legends & Hall of Fame 2023 Celebration.The ceremony happened to fall on the 220th anniversary of Haitian Flag Day, which celebrates Haitian independence as well as the creation of the flag.“We are absolutely amazed. This is our opening ceremony; this is where we’re gonna honor many members of the community and legends in the Haitian music industry,” said Evrose Noel, the festival’s executive director.Haitian American leaders and officials were among those honored, including Father Reginald Jean-Mary of the Notre Dame d’Haiti Catholic Church in Little Haiti.Thursday’s ceremony was just the start of the festivities, as more events are scheduled for Saturday at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami.

Zelenskyy expected to make in-person appeal to G7 leaders in Japan

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:11:10 GMT

HIROSHIMA, Japan — With Russia’s war on Ukraine nearing a potential inflection point, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to travel to Japan this weekend to address U.S. President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders, drawing on this city’s tragic history as a backdrop for his latest plea to secure more military and financial support.The news of Zelenskyy’s visit, confirmed by three officials familiar with the plans, comes as Biden and other G7 leaders on Friday were set to reaffirm their commitment to defend Ukraine against Russia.The anticipated announcements of additional export controls and sanctions against several hundred Russian entities, outlined by a U.S. official on Thursday, followed a visit by G7 leaders to Hiroshima’s “hypocenter,” the spot the U.S. detonated an atomic bomb some 78 years ago this month.Biden and other leaders visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum before laying wreaths at an outdoor memorial just steps away from the “bomb dome...

Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver dig into ‘Master Gardener’ roles

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:11:10 GMT

LIDO, Venice, Italy – “Master Gardener,” a steamy, continually surprising romantic drama teaming Sigourney Weaver and Joel Edgerton, is writer-director Paul Schrader’s latest Hitchcockian puzzle.At 76, Schrader remains celebrated for provocative, violent thrillers like “Cat People” or “American Gigolo.”  “Gardener” finds mystery and power dynamics in the relationship between Weaver’s mistress of the manor and Edgerton’s titular character, a man with many secrets — and revealing tattoos.Edgerton’s Narvel Roth is the horticulturalist in charge of the sumptuous Gracewood Gardens estate of Weaver’s demanding owner Norma Haverhill.She calls Norma, “A lusty woman and one of the best roles I’ve ever had.”For Schrader, Narvel’s a man’s man, a tough guy of few words. “A big slab of beef.”For Australia’s Edgerton, 48, Schrader’s classic “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull” screenplays remain revelatory. “Guys like me in drama school,” he said, “we were looking at guys like Robert De Niro ...

‘Master Gardener’ a thought-proving thriller from Paul Schrader

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:11:10 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“Master Gardener”Rated R. At the Coolidge Corner.Grade: B Writer-director Paul Schrader is best known as the writer of the landmark Martin Scorsese masterpiece “Taxi Driver” (1976) – the film that immortalized the line, “You talkin’ to me?” – and the writer-director of such films as “American Gigolo” (1980), “Cat People” (1982), “Affliction” (1997) and more recently “First Reformed” (2017). At 76, Schrader now delivers “Master Gardener,” a “First Reformed”-like third film in a trilogy including “First Reformed” (2017) and “The Card Counter” (2021), all featuring deeply troubled protagonists. In this case, the lead is a horticulturist devoted to maintaining the lavish gardens and grounds of the estate of a demanding dowager (Sigourney Weaver), who calls him, “sweet pea.”The metaphor is arguably too on-the-nose. In addition to summoning the memory of Voltaire’s “Candide” and its garden, the profession of Schrader’s latest alter ego remind...

Kramer: NBA must draw the line on whining players

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:11:10 GMT

In baseball, a player or coach who questions a called third strike is ejected. In contrast, the NBA has now reached a level where any player or coach who doesn’t question a foul called would be considered a wimp. What’s wrong with this picture?The NBA began its “Final Four” championship pursuit this week with the Celtics a prime contender. Having survived prior series with tough opponents, players have even more at stake as the competition for a championship is heightened in the semi finals and the finals. Each basket and foul become even more important as competition becomes even more intense.Currently, when a foul is called, rarely is it not followed by a visible and vocal adverse reaction by the culprit and his coach.  Players react with wide-eyed wonder, arms flailing and verbal denials . The coach stalks the referee back and forth and often the game is delayed by a challenge involving a midcourt meeting of the referees and a conference with the NBA Replay  Center.  The ga...

‘Monica’ resonates as trans drama about family, identity

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:11:10 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“Monica”Rated R. At Landmark Kendall Square and VOD.Grade: B+“Monica” is a modern, gender-transitioning twist on the theme of the prodigal son. The film’s eponymous protagonist Monica (Trace Lysette, “Transparent”) is an unhappy transgender woman, who has lost contact with her birth family for reasons not explained to us at first. But we can guess.In opening scenes, Monica tries to to contact a man named Jimmy for whom she expresses love. But we have a sense that the relationship is over. Monica, who has a lavish floral tattoo on her shoulder and neck, can be seen giving a man a massage and giving herself an injection of some sort. She is summoned by phone and drives for two days to return to her family in the Midwest to help with the care of her dying mother Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson), who is also losing her memory. Eugenia does not recognize Monica (Or does she?) as her former son. Monica’s brother Paul (Joshua Close), who is married to the likable Laura (...

Editorial: Rising star Rachael Rollins now a cautionary tale

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:11:10 GMT

When Rachael Rollins took her position as Suffolk County District Attorney in 2019, she was determined to disrupt the “status quo.”She told the Boston Chamber of Commerce in 2021 “I knew this was not going to be easy, and that the work we’re doing here in Boston is scary to some people to some who are deeply invested in the status quo because the system works well for them.”In the end, the disgraced former Attorney General for Massachusetts proved she was deeply invested in making the system work for her – ethics be damned.Rollins has gone from rising star to the poster girl for hubris in less than a week and the dust is still settling after a Department of Justice report concluded she improperly used her position by influencing the Suffolk DA’s race by leaking non-public information and broke agency rules by attending a Democratic fundraiser last summer, as the Herald reported.The report calls her out for attempting to tip the scales in last year...

‘It Ain’t Over’ captures life of MLB maestro Yogi Berra

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:11:10 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“It Ain’t Over”Rated PG. At the AMC Boston Common, Landmark Kendall Square and suburban theaters.Grade: A- Even if you are not a baseball fan, you must see “It Ain’t Over,” Sean Mullin’s wonderful documentary about one of the most underrated major league baseball legends in MLB history. At the 2015 All-Star Game, several “greatest living players” were introduced to an adoring crowd: Willy Mays, Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench and Sandy Koufax. Where was Lorenzo Pietro “Yogi” Berra, whose stats are even better than theirs? Nicknamed for the way he sat with his arms and legs crossed waiting for his turn at bat playing sandlot baseball as a youth, Berra started playing professionally in the post-World War II age of Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio. “Joltin’ Joe” was a 6’2” matinee idol with a baseball mitt, who famously married Marilyn Monroe, establishing a pattern for celebrity-sports stars hookups.Yogi was a “funny looking” 5’7” “human fire hy...

Cotton: GOP sounded alarms on Rachael Rollins, Dems ignored them

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:11:10 GMT

Every New Englander should breathe a sigh of relief. This week, the pro-criminal U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Rachael Rollins, announced that she is resigning. She is stepping down after just 18 months on the job after committing a series of serious ethical violations.On Wednesday, an Inspector General’s report found that Ms. Rollins leaked sensitive law enforcement information to hurt a political enemy and then lied under oath about her political activities. The report found that “the leak was an extraordinary breach of public trust by a senior government official.” For its part, the U.S. Office of the Special Counsel found that she committed “among the most egregious transgressions” of the anti-politicization Hatch Act, that they “ever investigated.”The Associated Press noted that “the resignation of a U.S. attorney amid ethics concerns is an exceedingly rare phenomenon.” It may be rare, but it was predictable. I should know; I predicted it.I’ve long believed t...