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Culture on display: Dozens of embassies to open their doors to visitors this weekend

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:09:11 GMT

This weekend, over 60 of Washington’s more than 175 embassies will welcome visitors inside during the annual Passport DC Around the World Embassy Tour.Passport DC includes a host of events this month, including the Saturday, May 6, embassy tour that’s curated by Events DC to encourage and inspire residents to learn about the District’s diplomatic community.“I love the cultural diversity and the inclusiveness,” Events DC President and CEO Angie M. Gates said. “This gives us an opportunity and the embassies an opportunity to just share their culture and what their country has to offer.”Participants can expect to learn about cultural traditions through food, fashion, art and music. In previous years, embassies have held karate demonstrations, K-pop dance competitions and sari wrapping lessons.There is also a physical souvenir passport that participants are encouraged to use as they tour the embassies. An interactive map is also available to help visitors navigate the embass...

Brewers look to break 3-game slide, take on the Rockies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:09:11 GMT

Milwaukee Brewers (18-12, second in the NL Central) vs. Colorado Rockies (11-20, fifth in the NL West)Denver; Thursday, 3:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Brewers: Wade Miley (3-1, 1.86 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 19 strikeouts); Rockies: Connor Seabold (0-0, 5.27 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 13 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Brewers -144, Rockies +123; over/under is 12 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Milwaukee Brewers enter the matchup with the Colorado Rockies as losers of three straight games.Colorado has an 11-20 record overall and a 6-9 record at home. The Rockies have the eighth-ranked team batting average in the NL at .252.Milwaukee has a 9-6 record in road games and an 18-12 record overall. The Brewers have a 9-1 record in games when they did not allow a home run.Thursday’s game is the third meeting between these teams this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Kris Bryant has four doubles, four home runs and 10 RBI while hitting .299 for the Rockies. Elias Diaz is 12-for-37 with a double and a home run over the...

Nationals face the Cubs with 2-1 series lead

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:09:11 GMT

Chicago Cubs (15-15, third in the NL Central) vs. Washington Nationals (12-18, fifth in the NL East)Washington; Thursday, 1:05 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Jameson Taillon (0-0); Nationals: Patrick Corbin (1-4, 5.74 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 21 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Cubs -219, Nationals +181; over/under is 9 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals host the Chicago Cubs with a 2-1 series lead.Washington has gone 5-12 at home and 12-18 overall. The Nationals are 10-3 in games when they out-hit their opponents.Chicago has a 7-7 record on the road and a 15-15 record overall. The Cubs rank eighth in the majors with 40 total home runs, averaging 1.3 per game.The teams match up Thursday for the fourth time this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Jeimer Candelario leads Washington with four home runs while slugging .388. Dominic Smith is 11-for-39 with a home run and an RBI over the past 10 games.Nico Hoerner has five doubles, a triple, two home runs and 17 RBI for the Cubs. Cody Belling...

Braves play the Marlins after Albies’ 4-hit game

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:09:11 GMT

Atlanta Braves (21-10, first in the NL East) vs. Miami Marlins (16-15, second in the NL East)Miami; Thursday, 4:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Dylan Dodd (0-0); Marlins: Jesus Luzardo (2-1, 3.48 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 38 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Marlins -115, Braves -105; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Braves play the Miami Marlins after Ozzie Albies’ four-hit game on Wednesday.Miami is 16-15 overall and 10-8 in home games. The Marlins have a 10-1 record in games when they did not give up a home run.Atlanta has a 14-3 record in road games and a 21-10 record overall. Braves hitters have a collective .343 on-base percentage, the third-best percentage in the majors.Thursday’s game is the seventh time these teams square off this season. The Braves hold a 5-1 advantage in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Luis Arraez has six doubles, a triple and a home run for the Marlins. Jazz Chisholm is 11-for-38 with a double and two home runs over the l...

How to watch England’s local elections like a pro

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:09:11 GMT

LONDON — Parts of England head to the polls Thursday, with local democracy — not to mention the reputations of Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives and Keir Starmer’s Labour — at stake.Voters will choose councillors in more than 8,000 seats on 230 local councils across England Thursday.As they prepare for damaging results amid poor national polling, Sunak — facing his first electoral test as PM — said Wednesday evening the elections were “going to be hard for us.” Labour officials insist that 400 gains would be a good night, though experts reckon the opposition is likely on course to win more. In their efforts to manage expectations, the Conservative Party top brass has stuck rigidly to a warning by the Oxford academics Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher that 1,000 council seats could be lost — and that losing anything less than 500 seats would actually represent a good night. Elsewhere, the Liberal Democrats hope to make gains in so-called ‘blue wall’ ar...

4 injured, 1 unaccounted for after explosion at chemical plant in Newburyport

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:09:11 GMT

One person is unaccounted for after an explosion at a chemical plant in a Newburyport industrial park, officials say. Firefighters from multiple communities responded to the scene around 1 a.m. Crews said an industrial-sized vat from inside the building had moved about 30 feet because of the explosion and was in the parking lot when they got there. Officials say five workers were injured in the explosion. Four were treated and released and one remains unaccounted for as of 6 a.m. The plant is the site of two other recent incidents, including an explosion in 2020 and a chemical fire in 2021. The incident remains under investigation and no additional information has been released. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Ravens roster projection: Here’s where six draft picks fit on the depth chart

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:09:11 GMT

This year’s Ravens draft class was their smallest since 2009, when they also selected just six players. It was nearly half the size of last year’s haul, which featured 11 players, many of whom played meaningful snaps and will do so again this year.In other words, the impact of this year’s class will be different — but different doesn’t necessarily mean insignificant.“We don’t see a lot of big, glaring holes, and we have solutions as well still out there in free agency, potentially,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said Saturday. “So, if you’re not going to have a lot of picks, this is probably the year to not have picks. We were able to fortify.”To that point, the Ravens’ depth chart in some positions — quarterback, running back, fullback, tight end, offensive tackle, center, interior defensive line, safety — remains largely the same as it was before the draft. That doesn’t mean it will sta...

Guregian: Why can’t this version of the Celtics be the norm?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:09:11 GMT

Jayson Tatum was on the bench with four fouls at the start of the fourth quarter. He had seven points in just over 19 minutes on the floor, making just one of seven field goal attempts to that point.He was essentially done for the night.More trouble in paradise for the Green team? Hardly.The Celtics were actually in cruise control at that point. They were still blowing out the Sixers. They took a 27-point lead into the final quarter, and didn’t look back.After their dismal effort in Game 1, losing with Joel Embiid in street clothes, this type of performance was a must if their expectation is to get back into the NBA Finals and finish the job this time.So with their backs against the wall, they rallied in a big way to avoid going down 0-2. They crushed Doc Rivers’ team, evening the series with a 121-87 win.All of which begs the question: Why can’t they play like this all the time?Why can’t they just keep their foot on the gas?They certainly have the ability. They ha...

US joins UN in suspending food aid to Ethiopia’s Tigray

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:09:11 GMT

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The United States aid agency says it has suspended all food assistance to the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray “until further notice” while it investigates the theft of humanitarian supplies. The U.N. confirmed earlier reports that it was doing the same.USAID Administrator Samantha Power said that her group has “uncovered that food aid, intended for the people of Tigray suffering under famine-like conditions, was being diverted and sold on the local market.”After discovering food was missing, the agency alerted its inspector general, who launched an investigation. “Following this review, USAID determined, in coordination with the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa and our implementing partners, that a temporary pause in food aid was the best course of action,” Power said in a statement. She added that USAID has raised its concerns with Ethiopia’s federal government and Tigray authorities.Nearly all of Tigray’s 6 million people rely on food aid, after two yea...

Judge tosses Trump lawsuit against New York Times

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:09:11 GMT

(The Hill) - A New York judge on Wednesday tossed former President Trump’s lawsuit against The New York Times and several of its reporters over a 2018 article on the former president’s “dubious tax schemes.”Justice Robert Reed dismissed the claims against the Times and its reporters Susanne Craig, David Barstow, and Russ Buettner and ordered Trump to pay all attorneys’ fees and other costs associated with the lawsuit."The New York Times is pleased with the judge's decision today,” Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said in a statement. “It is an important precedent reaffirming that the press is protected when it engages in routine newsgathering to obtain information of vital importance to the public."Trump sued the newspaper and his niece Mary Trump in September 2021, accusing them of engaging in an “insidious plot” to obtain confidential tax records for the article. The former president claimed the Times reporters were liable because they allegedly encouraged his niec...