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Pavel Zacha hoping to fill the Boston Bruins’ void at center

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

A year ago at this time, Pavel Zacha was seen as more of a curiosity than a huge acquisition by Bruins fans. But as of this moment and barring a franchise-altering trade, Zacha is the B’s No. 1 centerman.Whether or not he’s up to the task will go a long way toward determining if the B’s can stay afloat in the deepening Atlantic Division waters.The one-time sixth overall pick of the New Jersey Devils, obtained for well-traveled veteran Erik Haula last summer, got a taste of what’s in store for him late in the season and in the playoffs when the now-retired Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci were both injured. He’s relishing the opportunity ahead.“It’s a position that you want to be in in your career,” the 26-year-old Zacha told the Herald earlier this week. “I was able to try it the last last couple of weeks in the season and the first couple of games in the playoffs. I got the opportunity to play that role with Charlie Coyle. That’s something...

No foul play suspected in death of hiker found near Castle Rock formation in Saugus’ Breakheart Reservation

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

The death of a 65-year-old man found dead in Breakheart Reservation in Saugus is not suspicious, authorities say.A family member told Saugus Police at around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday that the man, who authorities have not identified, went to the Reservation at around 8 that morning and the family member hadn’t heard from him since, according to the Essex District Attorney’s office. The man had gone off in search of some missing property.Family and friends found the man’s body just a few hundred yards into the Reservation next to the Castle Rock formation, which extends some 30 feet into the air, a little after 6 p.m., according to a Thursday morning update by the Massachusetts State Police.“Whether the man fell from the higher location remains part of the ongoing investigation into the facts and circumstances of his death,” MSP spokesman Dave Procopio wrote in a statement.The Essex DA’s office said that the state Chief Medical Examiner’s office will conduct an autopsy, “but the death is ...

‘There’s something brewing in this clubhouse.’ Christopher Morel’s walk-off HR caps Chicago Cubs’ wild comeback win.

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

Somewhere between first and second base, Christopher Morel tossed his helmet windmill-style in euphoric celebration.By the time he sprinted around third, a mob of his Chicago Cubs teammates and coaches waiting for him at home plate, Morel ripped off his jersey and left it in his dust. His three-run, walk-off homer sparked bedlam at Wrigley Field where 40,869 fans watched the Cubs pull out a 4-3 win over the White Sox in the final game of the City Series.One thought flitted through during Morel’s mad dash around the bases: “I hit a home run — Cubs win!”David Ross started high-fiving bench coach Andy Green when his manager brain kicked in, making sure Morel touched every base.Second baseman Nico Hoerner’s stomach hurt from laughing watching Morel’s exuberance and soccer move to pull off his own jersey, telling the Tribune, “I couldn’t believe what I was watching in front of me, but for anyone that knows him well, it was all really genuin...

Pedestrian fatally struck by COASTER train in San Diego

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A pedestrian was killed after being struck by a COASTER commuter train in San Diego Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office, deputies from the North Coastal Sheriff's Station's Transit Enforcement Unit responded to a report of a pedestrian that was struck by a northbound COASTER around 3:50 p.m. Boy, 8, pinned against wall by vehicle in Miramar Authorities say the incident occurred on the railroad tracks just north of Sassafras Street. Deputies confirmed an adult pedestrian had been fatally struck by the train. The identity of the deceased individual was not immediately released.There were no reported injuries to the employees or passengers on the train.Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to call SDSO's non-emergency line at (858) 565-5200.

Canada mulling ‘game plan’ if U.S. takes far-right, authoritarian shift: Joly

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada has been considering a “game plan” for how it would respond if the United States takes a far-right, authoritarian shift after next year’s presidential elections.“We are certainly working on scenarios,” Joly said in French during an interview with a Montreal radio station Wednesday.Joly added that Ottawa’s close political and economic ties to the U.S. means that “we must certainly prepare several scenarios.”She suggested Canada has a game plan in mind but wouldn’t get into details.“In general, there is our game plan, precisely to be able to manage what could be a rather difficult situation,” she said.“I will work with my colleagues and with the mayors, the provincial premiers, with the business community, with the unions, with everyone in the country, so that we are ready regardless of the election outcome.”Joly drew an analogy to her governmentR...

Composer Bernstein’s children defend Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose after ‘Maestro’ is criticized

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — After Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose in the trailer for the upcoming Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro” stoked criticism of antisemitism, the conductor’s children have come to the defense of the actor. The teaser trailer for “Maestro,” which Cooper directs and stars in, debuted Tuesday and offered the first close-up look at Cooper’s makeup and performance as the great American composer and longtime music director of the New York Philharmonic. Cooper, who is not Jewish, dons a prosthetic nose as part of his transformation into Bernstein, who was. To some, Cooper’s nose in the trailer seemed like the kind of outsized caricature that has been a regular feature of Jewish portrayals throughout film history. The nonprofit group Stop Antisemitism called it “sickening.” “Hollywood cast Bradley Cooper — a non-Jew — to play Jewish legend Leonard Bernstein and stuck a disgusting exaggerated ‘Jew nose’ on him,” the group tweeted on X.Bernstein’s three c...

US imposes sanctions on 2 Turkey-backed Syrian militias and the groups’ leaders

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on two Turkey-backed Syrian militias and the groups’ leaders accused of human rights abuses in Syria’s northwestern, opposition-held enclave.The groups are operating in the town of Afrin, which has been under Turkish-backed opposition forces since 2018, following an Ankara-backed military operation. That offensive pushed Syrian Kurdish fighters and thousands of Kurdish residents from the area. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned The Suleiman Shah Brigade and The Hamza Division, as well as their leaders, Mohammad Hussein al-Jasim, Walid Hussein al-Jasim, and Sayf Boulad Abu Bakr. The Suleiman Shah Brigade was accused of abductions and extortion of residents, especially Afrin’s Kurdish residents, to force them to abandon their homes and flee or to “pay large ransoms for return of their property or family members”. The Treasury said The Hamza Division was also involved in r...

Weekend need to know: Canadian National Exhibition, Jonas Brothers, cultural festivals

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

It’s the unofficial mark of the end of summer in Toronto – the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) is returning to Exhibition Place for two-and-a-half weeks.Cultural festivals continue in the city, such as a weekly Indigenous food and vendor market, RastaFest, and the Latin Sparks Festival.The Jonas Brothers are also performing at Rogers Centre for their latest tour.There is a scheduled subway closure on Line 2, additional services are being added to public transit for those heading to the CNE, and road closures continue in and around the city. Scroll below for details.Here’s what’s going on this weekend:Canadian National ExhibitionThe Ex is back in town!Get ready for dill pickle cotton candy, a Pink Floyd exhibit, and the first ever CNE drag performance for the next couple weeks.The CNE is known for the interesting foods that make an appearance at the event every year.This year, people can try a watermelon burger (a traditional burger and instead of buns, it’...

Average long-term US mortgage rate climbs to 7.09% this week to highest level in more than 20 years

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level in more than 20 years, pushing up borrowing costs for homebuyers already challenged by a housing market that remains competitive due to a dearth of homes for sale.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose to 7.09% from 6.96% last week. A year ago, the rate averaged 5.13%.It’s the fourth consecutive weekly increase for the average rate and the highest since early April 2002, when it averaged 7.13%. The last time the average rate was above 7% was last November, when it stood at 7.08%. High rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can afford in a market already unaffordable to many Americans.The latest increase in rates follows a sharp uptick in the 10-year Treasury yield, which has been above 4% this month and climbing. The yield, which lenders use to price rates on mortgages and other loans, was at...

New Jersey shutters 27 Boston Market restaurants over unpaid wages, related worker issues

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:40:00 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — State labor officials have temporarily shut down more than two dozen Boston Market restaurants in New Jersey after finding multiple violations of workers’ rights, including more than $600,000 in back wages owed to 314 employees.A stop-work order was issued Tuesday by the Department of Labor against 27 restaurants across New Jersey. The state also imposed nearly $2.6 million in penalties against the firm.The Associated Press sent an email seeking comment to Boston Market’s corporate office in Golden, Colorado, on Thursday. There are 31 Boston Market restaurants in New Jersey and 310 nationwide, according to its website.The company has requested a hearing challenging the state’s findings, labor officials said, but a hearing date has not yet been scheduled.State officials say the investigation began in November, when a worker at a restaurant in Mercer County filed a complaint with the labor department. Since then, nearly three dozen additional complaints have...