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French Polynesia elects pro-independence party

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:55:11 GMT

French Polynesia has elected a pro-independence party, giving fresh impetus to long-standing calls for a referendum in France’s sprawling overseas territory in the South Pacific.The Tavini Huiraatira party, led by former president Oscar Temaru, won an absolute majority in the Assembly of French Polynesia, taking 38 of the 57 seats, French newspaper Le Figaro reported. The assembly will elect a president of the territory for a five-year term later this month, who could then push an independence bid.French Polynesia already has a degree of autonomy, with responsibility for policies including health care, primary and secondary education, and the environment. In this regard it is closer to British and Dutch overseas territories than to other French possessions such as Réunion and Guadeloupe, which are treated the same as continental departments.Nevertheless, Paris retains control over issues such as higher education and defense policy. Independence has been an issue for decades: T...

Outdoor dining returns to Boston in all neighborhoods except North End

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:55:11 GMT

Outdoor dining returns to Boston on Monday, but not for everyone. On the street, outdoor dining is starting up again for all areas except the North End. The decision has brought controversy, with some North End restaurant owners saying it is discriminatory. Boston city officials announced new outdoor dining rules earlier this year requiring restaurants in the North End to take tables off streets. Under the new policy, outdoor dining in the North End will be limited to sidewalks and patios. 

How NFC North teams fared in the NFL draft: With Aaron Rodgers gone, the division looks wide open

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:55:11 GMT

After three decades of being able to lean on Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, the Green Bay Packers are moving on to a new era with Jordan Love, their first-round pick in 2020, dramatically changing the outlook for the NFC North.With the NFL draft concluded, the Detroit Lions are the favorite to win the division on the basis of their 9-8 season in 2022, when they won five of their final six games to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2017.The Lions are +135 at Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas to capture the NFC North, ahead of the defending champion Minnesota Vikings (+325), Chicago Bears (+325) and Packers (+420). It projects to be a wide-open race.The Packers used five of their first seven picks and seven of 13 overall on offensive players in an effort to surround Love with talent. They drafted tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft and wide receiver Jayden Reed on Day 2.The Vikings chose the fourth wide receiver in Round 1 in USC’s Jordan Ad...

Chicago baseball report: Justin Steele’s streak intact despite sweep of Cubs — and a historically bad April for White Sox

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:55:11 GMT

A three-game sweep decided by three runs is not how the Chicago Cubs wanted to begin their seven-game trip.Even more frustrating, four walks scored during their series in Miami, a number that loomed large to manager David Ross after Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the Marlins.“I don’t think we played bad baseball,” Ross said. “We didn’t get the big hit this series. They did. A couple things go our way here or there …“We can do some little things better. But, again, that’s just baseball. They played better than we did this series.”The Cubs (14-13) went 4-for-25 with runners in scoring position and left 24 runners on base en route to getting swept for the first time this season.The White Sox (8-21) appeared headed for another setback Sunday before pulling off a stunning ninth-inning rally for a 12-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Andrew Vaughn’s three-run homer capped a seven-run inning to snap a 10-game losing streak.Every Mond...

Column: ‘Sell the team’ chant could be on heavy rotation at Chicago White Sox games this summer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:55:11 GMT

“Sell the team” officially replaced “Fire Tony” on Saturday as the trendy new chant on the South Side.After venting their displeasure with manager Tony La Russa during last year’s lost summer, disgruntled fans turned their attention to Chicago White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf during a 10-run inning in a stunning 12-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.La Russa never got fired for last year’s flop, retiring for health reasons after missing the final weeks of an underachieving season. Reinsdorf is unlikely to sell the Sox, no matter how many games they lose this season. Chanting doesn’t usually work — Oakland A’s fans have employed the same “Sell the team” chant during home games as the owner prepares to move the franchise to Las Vegas.But Sox fans made their point, and chanting their desires in public clearly feels cathartic to a sizable number of them while making for a nifty 10-second video clip on social media. If the poo...

Miserable, wet start to May to give way to weekend sunshine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:55:11 GMT

It’s not an ideal start for May weather in the GTA as ‘April Showers’ are extending into the first week of the new month.It will be cool and unsettled almost every day this week with no relief in sight until Friday. Temperatures will remain well below seasonal and showers are expected Monday through Thursday.“It’s a stalled out front and it just means more showers and more showers,” says CityNews meteorologist Jill Taylor.Good Monday morning and the start of May! We still have some wet weather to deal with at times for the start of the week. We may finally get into some sunshine Thursday and Friday. Weekend looks great with plenty of sunshine and warmer too!!— Jill Taylor (@JillTaylorCity) May 1, 2023Monday’s guaranteed high is 10 C and will be accompanied by showers and wind gusts of up to 50 km/hr. Tuesday is expected to be the coolest day of the week with a high near 8 C and more rain.Things will warm up slightly for the remainder ...

Americans fault news media for dividing nation: AP-NORC poll

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:55:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to the news media and the impact it’s having on democracy and political polarization in the United States, Americans are likelier to say it’s doing more harm than good.Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults say the news media is increasing political polarization in this country, and just under half say they have little to no trust in the media’s ability to report the news fairly and accurately, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.The poll, released before World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, shows Americans have significant concerns about misinformation — and the role played by the media itself along with politicians and social media companies in spreading it — but that many are also concerned about growing threats to journalists’ safety.“The news riles people up,” said 53-year-old Barbara Jordan, a Democrat from Hutchinson, Kansas. ...

Aerosmith announces farewell tour starting in September

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:55:11 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aerosmith will be touring a city near you for the last time to celebrate the rock band’s 50-plus years together.The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band announced Monday the dates for their farewell tour called “Peace Out” starting Sept. 2 in Philadelphia. The 40-date run of shows, which includes a stop in the band’s hometown of Boston on New Year’s Eve, will end Jan. 26 in Montreal.“I think it’s about time,” guitarist Joe Perry said. Perry said the group, with frontman Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer and guitarist Brad Whitford, learned from the staging and production from their recent Las Vegas residency shows.Perry believes the time to say goodbye is now, especially with every founding band member over the age of 70. Tyler, 75, is the oldest in the group.“It’s kind of a chance to celebrate the 50 years we’ve been out here,” Perry said. “You never know how much longer everybody’s going to be healthy to do this. … It’s been a while sinc...

World’s workers rally on May Day; France braces for protests

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:55:11 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — People squeezed by inflation and demanding economic justice took to the streets of cities across Asia and Europe to mark May Day on Monday, in a global outpouring of worker discontent not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic sent the world into lockdowns.French unions pushed the president to scrap a higher retirement age. South Koreans pleaded for higher wages. Spanish lawyers demanded the right to take days off. Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon marched in a country plunged in economic crisis.While May Day is marked around the world on May 1 as a celebration of labor rights, Monday’s rallies tapped into broader frustrations at the state of today’s world. Climate activists spraypainted a Louis Vuitton museum in Paris, and protesters in Germany demonstrated against violence targeting women and LGBTQ+ people.Celebrations were forced indoors in Pakistan and tinged with political tensions in Turkey, as both countries face high-stakes elections. Russia̵...

Black Protestant church still vital despite attendance drop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:55:11 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The wide empty spaces in pews between parishioners at a Sunday service at Zion Baptist Church in South Carolina’s capital highlight a post-pandemic reality common among many Black Protestant churches nationwide.At its heyday in the 1960s, more than 1,500 parishioners filled every seat at Zion. But membership at the historic church — a crucial meeting point for many during the Civil Rights Movement — dwindled over recent decades.The trend has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which infected and killed Black Americans at a disproportionate rate. Zion’s attendance dropped from 300 parishioners before the outbreak to 125 now.Founded in 1865, Zion still has a choir capable of beautiful singing, but it also shrunk by more than half. The stomping of feet and the call-and-response of the leader and congregation have dimmed from what they were before the pandemic.“It saddens my heart,” said Calvernetta Williams, who has worshipped at Zion for 40 years. “The pas...