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‘August Wilson: A Life’: A theater giant’s symphony of 20th century Black lives, captured by biographer Patti Hartigan

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:25:50 GMT

Michael Phillips | Chicago Tribune (TNS)Opening night, 1986. August Wilson’s play “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” Huntington Theatre Company in Boston. Patti Hartigan, a rising young critic and arts writer, took her seat for the pre-Broadway tryout performance, the production one of several regional theater stops for the new play en route to Broadway.For a lot of reasons, Hartigan will never forget what she saw that night, notably the Act 1 climax: a haunted man’s vision, which consumes him in the middle of a joyous Pittsburgh boardinghouse celebration, of bones walking on water. These are the bones of enslaved Africans lost in the Middle Passage. Wilson’s play takes place in 1911. America’s former slaves are free, on paper, but searching — following the scent of what Wilson calls their “blood memory.”In her absorbing, richly detailed biography, “August Wilson: A Life,” recently published by Simon & Schuster, Hartigan calls “Joe Turner” Wilson’s greatest achievement. She has plent...

‘Bottoms’ review: In a queer ‘Fight Club’ with a side of ‘Heathers,’ the jokes and punches fly

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:25:50 GMT

Michael Phillips | Chicago Tribune (TNS)The wide, bright, satiric world of “Bottoms,” director and co-writer Emma Seligman’s second feature, expands and contracts as needed. One minute it’s a sincere portrait of a teen friendship between the equally uncool and marginalized PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri, Hulu’s “The Bear”). They’re queer, witty and a little heartbreaking, and not only because they refer to themselves as “ugly” and “losers” when they’re plainly not.Then, on a dime, Seligman and co-screenwriter Sennott change the key and start tossing whole chunks of “Fight Club” and “Heathers” into a mini-Ninja blender, along with the entirety of John Hughes’ canon of hetero-male high school ‘80s cool.The result — peppy, bloody and swift — is very different from Seligman’s 2021 sublimely nerve-wracking debut film, the deft comedy of lesbian Jewish mortification “Shiva Baby.” This one tries more, every which way and largely successfully. Arch? Glib? Yes and yes. But I laug...

Spanish soccer player says a kiss on the lips with federation president was not consensual

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:25:50 GMT

By JOSEPH WILSON (Associated Press)BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The embattled president of Spain’s soccer federation defiantly refused to step down Friday after insisting that a kiss on the lips with Women’s Soccer player Jenni Hermoso was consensual, an assertion that Hermoso strongly denied.Meanwhile, all 22 of Hermoso’s fellow world champions, and 58 other Spanish players, announced they will no longer play for Spain if Luis Rubiales doesn’t resign. Facing his possible removal from office, the 46-year-old Rubiales cast himself as the victim at an emergency meeting of the federation in Madrid. “I won’t resign,” he declared four times in quick succession, to applause from the overwhelmingly male audience. Rubiales, who was also chastised for grabbing his crotch after Spain’s 1-0 victory over England on Sunday, is under immense pressure to leave his post.The kiss marred the title celebrations in front of a global audience, and critici...

New-look Revolution get back to MLS play at CF Montreal

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:25:50 GMT

The New England Revolution resume MLS play when they engage CF Montreal on Saturday night (7:30) at Stade Saputo.The Revolution return to work after an extended down period that began when MLS went dark to compete in the Leagues Cup Tournament. The Revolution’s last MLS contest was a 4-0 win over D.C. United at Gillette Stadium on July 15.The Revolution played in four Leagues Cup matches and were eliminated in Round 16 by Queretaro FC of LIGA MX on Aug. 7. The match ended deadlocked at 1-1 but the Revolution were outscored 4-2 in penalty kicks.The break was extended another 10 days when the Revolution’s match at Nashville FC slated for Aug. 16 was postponed until Oct. 14.“We’re back into MLS play and we did have a couple of weeks of break,” said Revolution interim head coach Richie Williams. “It’s going to be good to get back into the MLS league schedule.“We are going up to Montreal, which is a very good team, and it is not going to be an easy game. We have to be prepared and ready ...

High school teachers strike avoided after OSSTF agrees to arbitration in contract talks

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:25:50 GMT

A strike has been avoided at Ontario’s public high schools this fall after the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation agreed to enter arbitration in its talks with the provincial government over a new contract, sources tell CityNews.Education Minister Stephen Lecce is expected to provide an update Friday afternoon. More to come

Backers blast approved ballot language for Ohio’s fall abortion amendment as misleading

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:25:50 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Ballot Board approved language Thursday for a fall measure seeking to establish abortion access as a fundamental right, but one Democratic member blasted it as “rife with misleading and defective language.” Key among opponents’ objections were several aspects of language developed by Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, an abortion opponent, which they warned could prompt a legal challenge. Among the revisions, the word “fetus” in the amendment was changed to “unborn child” in the ballot description.The original language seeks to assure access to abortion through what is called viability, when the fetus is able to survive outside the womb. It states, “abortion may be prohibited after fetal viability,” but not in cases where a treating physician deems the procedure necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.LaRose’s summary turned that section on its head. It now says the amendment would “always allow an unborn child to ...

George Soros’ Open Society Foundations intend to cut programs in Europe, worrying grantees

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:25:50 GMT

Open Society Foundations plan to significantly curtail their work in Europe and lay off much of their staff on the continent, the foundations’ leaders told staff in Berlin, according to an internal email and several current employees, who say the decision is painful and perplexing.The planned European cuts, as described in an internal email viewed by The Associated Press, would represent a historic break with the roots of billionaire philanthropist George Soros’ support for civil society through education, human rights work and policy research, which started in his native Hungary more than three decades ago. The strategic change coincides with Alex Soros, George’s son, announcing a shift to a new operating model the board adopted at the end of June, its first major move since he took over as head of OSF’s board of directors in December. Grantees in Europe say OSF has not directly communicated the proposed strategy change to them, contributing to a sense of disbelief. “Th...

ECB’s Lagarde says interest rates to stay high as long as needed to defeat inflation

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:25:50 GMT

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (AP) — Interest rates in the European Union will need to stay high “as long as necessary” to slow still-high inflation, Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, said Friday. “While progress is being made,” she said, “the fight against inflation is not yet won.”Lagarde’s remarks, at an annual conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, came against the backdrop of the ECB’s efforts to manage a stagnating economy with still-high inflation. The central bank has raised its benchmark rate from minus 0.5% to 3.75% in one year — the fastest such pace since the euro was launched in 1999.The rate hikes have made it more expensive for consumers to borrow for the purchase a home or a car or for businesses to take out loans to expand and invest. Inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro has dropped from a peak of 10.6% last year to 5.3%, largely reflecting sharp drops in energy prices. But inflation still exceeds the ECB’s 2%...

NORAD scrambles F-16s to intercept civilian aircraft that strayed near Biden vacation spot at Tahoe

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:25:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. air defense scrambled fighter jets Friday to wave off a civilian aircraft that had entered temporarily restricted air space near Lake Tahoe, where President Joe Biden and Jill Biden are vacationing.The crews of two F-16s fired flares to catch the attention of the pilot of the civilian craft and escorted it out of the restricted airspace without further incident, North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, said in a statement.A Coast Guard helicopter also took part in the intercept, which happened Friday morning West Coast time. No information about the civilian aircraft or its pilot was released. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that the incursion was “not of protective interest” and had no impact on Secret Service operations.White House principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton added there also was no impact on the president.Biden is due to fly back to Washington on Saturday after a week of...

Introducing Fort McMurray’s young math champion

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:25:50 GMT

Our region, and the Fort McMurray Public School Division (FMPSD) are feeling on top of the world when it comes to mathematics.In a release, the FMPSD has announced Grade 3 student, Sniti Shah, has been named Grand Champion at the International ALOHA Math Competition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Shah attends Grade 3 at Walter and Gladys Hill Public School.Representing Canada, she won the Grand Champion trophy, the Grade 3 category medal, and two certificates at the annual event on July 30, 2023.“Sniti’s success at the competition results from her hard work and dedication to learning math, which she has shown since Fall 2020 when she first registered with ALOHA Center in Fort McMurray. Her parents played an essential role in encouraging her interest in math. Her ALOHA mentors and her teachers at school have all assisted her in becoming a champion.”According to the FMPSD, Shah retained the Grand Champion title in each of the previous three years by winning local competitions t...