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Local artists step up for 5 songs of fall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

It’s getting darker, literally and sonically. Yes, daylight is dwindling as we creep deep into fall. But also local champs are releasing songs that mirror the mood of autumn.Rejecting the blunt sunny pop of summer, these artists add nuance, shade, and a bit of rage to the season.  But before you tap out, know that these locals mix brilliance with sadness and introspection in these five Songs of Fall.“Only Fools (Betarseed),” Savoir FaireInspired by the protests in Iran that followed the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the police, “Only Fools (Betarseed)” ridicules oppressors while trying to lift up protesters with hope. But that hope doesn’t come with cheeriness. In an approach that’s become a hallmark of Savoir Faire’s unique, dark rock, she pairs devastating lyrics —  “Does my skin make you crawl? Does my hair make you bawl? I vocalize to pulverize/Are you alive? Did you survive this song?” — with hypnotic, labyrinthine, epic guitar lines. Like so much of her work, it’s perso...

Cast, gangster plot fail to raise ‘Kane’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

“Kane”Rated R. On VOD. Grade C+ How would you like an Australian grind-house-type, throwback gangster movie shot in Brisbane, Queensland and featuring several members of the cast of the long-running Aussie soap opera “Home and Away” aka “H&A?” Sounds tasty, right, mate? Well, in execution, not quite.Written and directed by Blair Moore, whose only previous credit is a short entitled “Canadian Psycho,” “Kane” tells the neo-Raymond Chandler-esque tale of a gangster named Abe (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, TV’s “Home and Away”). Abe lives with his loving wife (Holly Brisley, TV’s “Home and Away”) and preteen daughter. In the morning, Abe is picked up by his trusted driver Benny (Clayton Watson, TV’s “Home and Away”), who also narrates the film. The trouble for Benny (and others we presume) is that Abe suffers from DID (aka dissociative identity disorder or multiple personality disorder). One of Abe’s other personalities is a brilliant financial fixer and money ...

Week 10 updates: Chicago Bears secondary could be intact vs. Carolina Panthers as Tyrique Stevenson is active

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

The 2-7 Chicago Bears will play the 1-7 Carolina Panthers at Soldier Field in a Week 10 matchup. Here’s what you need to know before kickoff (7:15 p.m., Prime Video, Fox-32).Inactives announcedBears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson is active for Thursday night’s game against the Panthers at Soldier Field.The Bears announced Thursday afternoon that Stevenson was questionable to play as he recovers from an ankle injury that pushed him out in the second half of Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints.But Stevenson is active, and if he plays, the Bears could have their full starting secondary together with the return of safety Jaquan Brisker from a concussion.The Bears previously declared out linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (knee), right guard Nate Davis (ankle), fullback Khari Blasingame (concussion) and cornerback Terell Smith (mononucleosis).Quarterback Justin Fields, who was listed as doubtful as he recovers from a right thumb injury, also is inactive. Rookie quarterb...

Leubsdorf: A good night for Democrats, but…

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

Democrats have every reason to be pleased with the way this year’s scattered off-year elections showed them winning key races and the abortion issue retaining its political clout.But Tuesday’s successes came tempered with a warning of trouble ahead as yet another major poll showed President Joe Biden in serious reelection trouble, a problem likely to persist when the immediate glow wears off.The day’s races continued the pattern since the Supreme Court last year reversed its 1973 legalization of abortion rights: Democrats held Kentucky’s governorship with an increased margin, added Virginia’s House of Delegates to their control of the state Senate and made Ohio the latest state to guarantee the right to an abortion.In all three states, Democratic campaigns stressed the need to protect abortion rights, a crucial factor in their victories over the past year. “We head into 2024 with the wind at our back,” tweeted longtime Democratic strategist Simon RosenbergBut one year’s elections do...

McKenna: Mass. special education needs to get it right

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

The federal government is reviewing the special education system in Massachusetts to determine if students with disabilities are provided an appropriate education and if proper oversight of service providers such as public schools is given. In essence, this review focuses on the degree to which the civil rights of students with disabilities are met and protected. The state as well as the districts within it must comply with a number of mandates placed upon them by federal policy, all of which contribute to what is commonly referred to as a free appropriate public education (FAPE).However, districts must comply with these mandates while working within a number of persistent contextual factors that constrain their ability to achieve them. These constraints include the working conditions of special educators (e.g., number of students on their caseload, access to professional development that aligns with their responsibilities, access to necessary curricular resources and materials, acc...

Henry Winkler shares his journeys in new memoir

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

 Henry Winkler has been very public about his dyslexia. So when his youngest son Max suggested he write a memoir, Winkler immediately scoffed.“I’m so dyslexic, how am I going to write it?” he said he told Max in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I can’t spell or type.” His agent Esther Newberg had an easy solution: professional writer James Kaplan recorded 70 hours of their discussions and weaved it into a 244-page book called “Being Henry: The Fonz… and Beyond,” out now.The 77-year-old actor is known, of course, for his role as the Fonz on ABC’s “Happy Days” in the 1970s and 1980s as well as acting coach Gene Cousineau on the critically acclaimed dramatic HBO series “Barry.”Winkler said in the book that a therapist in recent years has helped him deal with lingering anger toward his parents, who often treated him poorly as a child because he struggled so much in school. He was suffering from dyslexia, which wasn’t diagnosed until he was an adult.But he ...

Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey, RB Keaton Mitchell added to injury report Thursday; several Browns return to practice

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

Once the NFL’s most-injured team earlier this season, the Ravens (7-2) enter Week 10 and Sunday’s crucial home game against the AFC North rival Cleveland Browns relatively healthy. But a few notable names were added to Thursday’s injury report.Cornerback Marlon Humphrey (hamstring), running back Keaton Mitchell (hamstring) and wide receiver Rashod Bateman (back) were all limited on a warm, rainy day in Owings Mills.Meanwhile, defensive tackle Michael Pierce (illness) did not practice for a second straight day, though he showed up to watch wearing a hoodie and shorts. Cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (illness) also did not practice.Mitchell is coming off a breakout performance in which he had 138 yards and a touchdown on nine carries in Sunday’s blowout win over the Seattle Seahawks. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken said Thursday that the undrafted rookie out of East Carolina has earned more playing time after he missed the early part of the season with a should...

Dear Abby: Hovering hubby irked by wife’s online chats

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

Dear Abby: I discovered last year that my wife was exchanging flirty texts with a local man and had been doing so for years. I found out when I uncovered an image of an adult toy in her phone’s deleted images. At the time, I nearly divorced her, but although our marriage went through a tumultuous period, we are still together.She told me then she’d stop communicating with this man, but a few months ago, she reached out to him for help with a social media account issue she had, and now they chat daily on social media. Although it seems platonic now, it bothers me and has been a source of contention in our marriage. She says she has problems finding female friends, that he understands her medical issues and he’s her friend, and they are back to messaging regularly. I can see what’s being said, but it still gets me upset.Am I an ogre for asking her to stop? She says that she has changed her mind and will continue to contact him. I feel like our marriage may be o...

The Great Grift: COVID-19 fraudster used stolen relief aid to purchase a private island in Florida

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

YANKEETOWN, Fla. (AP) — A freshwater spring bubbles amid the mangroves, cabbage palms and red cedars on Sweetheart Island, a two-acre uninhabited patch of paradise about a mile off the coast of this little Gulf Coast town.Pelicans divebomb nearby into the cool waters of Florida’s Withlacoochee Bay and the open view westward holds the promise of dazzling sunsets.It may have seemed like an ideal getaway for Florida businessman Patrick Parker Walsh. Instead, he’s serving five and half years in federal prison for stealing nearly $8 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds that he used, in part, to buy Sweetheart Island.While Walsh’s private island ranks among the more unusual purchases by pandemic fraudsters, his crime was not unique. He is one of thousands of thieves who perpetrated the greatest grift in U.S. history. They potentially plundered more than $280 billion in federal COVID-19 aid; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent.The loss represents close to 10% of the $4.3 ...

Manchin decision hurts Democrats’ Senate hopes and sparks new speculation about a presidential bid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Manchin’s decision not to seek reelection virtually ensures that the Democratic Party will lose his Senate seat next year in deep-red West Virginia, making the party’s steep path to retaining its razor-thin Senate majority even more difficult.Some Democratic officials are also concerned that Manchin’s announcement frees him to pursue a third-party presidential bid that could ultimately undermine President Joe Biden’s reelection. The 76-year-old Manchin has raised the possibility of a presidential bid in the past, and he made direct reference to national ambitions in the retirement video he posted on social media Thursday.“What I will be doing is traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together,” Manchin said. Manchin’s sudden announcement injects a new layer of uncertainty for Democratic leaders already anxious about the party’s pros...