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Algeria bans ‘Barbie’ almost a month after movie’s local release

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:16 GMT

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — The “Barbie” movie was pulled from theaters in Algeria this week almost one month after its release in the North African country. Online news outlet 24H Algerie said Algeria’s Ministry of Culture and Arts notified cinemas in Algiers, Oran and Constantine to “immediately” pull the movie. Neither the ministry nor the Algerian Audiovisual Regulatory Authority commented on the reported directive or provided a rationale for it.“Barbie” opened in some some Algerian cinemas last month. The film’s distributors removed the Hollywood blockbuster from their screening schedules starting this week..The move comes after authorities in Kuwait and Lebanon banned the live action movie based on the American fashion dolls for allegedly threatening conservative values.Some people in Algeria protested the cancellation on social media, posting their complaints along with the hashtag “#IAmBarbie.” Others denounced it as “censorship” and “bigotry.”“The ‘Barbie’ film ‘is ...

Red Wings acquire defenseman Jeff Petry in a trade with the Canadiens

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:16 GMT

The Detroit Red Wings acquired defenseman Jeff Petry from the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, a trade that gives them another veteran player late in a busy offseason of additions.Detroit got Petry at less than half his salary, just over $2.3 million for each of the next two seasons, in exchange for a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick and 24-year-old defenseman Gustav Lindstrom. The Canadiens just acquired Petry from Pittsburgh earlier this month in the trade that sent three-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson from the Sharks to the Penguins. Petry had previously spent seven-plus seasons with the Canadiens before being dealt to Pittsburgh last year and did not figure to be in their plans.Montreal retained 50% of Petry’s remaining salary. Pittsburgh is taking care of just over $1.5 million.Petry, 35, joins a remade blue line for Detroit, which also added Justin Holl and Shayne Gostisbehere in free agency. Eager to get the Red Wings back in contention and end a seven-year pla...

North Korea denounces US plans for an open UN Security Council meeting on its human rights record

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:16 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — North Korea on Tuesday denounced U.S.-led plans for an open Security Council meeting on its human rights record as “despicable” and only aimed at achieving Washington’s geopolitical ambitions.Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong called the United States a “declining” power and said if the council dealt with any country’s human rights, the U.S. should be the first “as it is the anti-people empire of evils, totally depraved due to all sorts of social evils.”The United States, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, scheduled the meeting on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name, for Thursday.It will be the first open council meeting on the DPRK rights issue since 2017. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters last week that U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk and Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N.’s independent investigator on human rights in the reclusive northeast Asia country, wou...

M-DCPS unveils new electric buses for safer and greener commutes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:16 GMT

Miami-Dade Public Schools are taking a big leap toward greener and safer student transportation with a new fleet of 20 Blue Bird Vision electric school buses. The move is all about reducing emissions and creating a sustainable future for students and the next generations.Thanks to a partnership with Florida Power & Light, charging stations have popped up at the district’s bus depot, allowing the electric buses to start their routes with a full charge. The buses are also capable of recharging while cruising, all thanks to a regenerative braking system.“These buses have a 120-mile range. When they let off the accelerator pedal, what happens is that the electric motor now turns into a generator and it’s recharging the batteries,” said James Hicks, Director of MDCPS Transportation. “I’m excited because we’re taking our first step into reducing our carbon footprint.”On Tuesday, 7News hopped aboard one of these brand-new electric buses f...

BSO: Man reported missing from Tamarac located

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:16 GMT

Detectives from the Broward Sheriff’s Office Missing Persons Unit said an 83-year-old man who went missing from Tamarac on Monday evening has been located. https://twitter.com/browardsheriff/status/1691520531932020738?s=20Felix Santiago was last seen around 8:30 p.m. on August 14, in the vicinity of the 10000 block of East Clairmont Circle. He was wearing a gray shirt and pants. Santiago, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, was driving a white 2020 Chevrolet Equinox with Florida license plate Z2PTQ. On Tuesday afternoon, BSO announced Santiago was located.

Investigation underway after 93-year-old woman dies in apparent drowning off Castle Island in South Boston

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:16 GMT

An elderly woman died after being pulled from the water off Castle Island in South Boston Monday, state police said.Describing the incident as an apparent drowning, state police said the 93-year-old woman was a client of a “private adult day care program” and was swimming in Pleasure Bay off Castle Island as part of a supervised trip. Police said the woman got into the water with two friends “with instructions to remain in shallow water.” Citing a preliminary investigation, police said investigators found the woman inadvertently swam into deeper water around 12 p.m. “(W)hen (she) realized the depth of the water she was in she appeared to panic and yelled for help before becoming submerged,” police said. State police said lifeguards as well as the woman’s friends pulled the woman to shore where lifeguards began performing CPR.  The woman was later taken to Boston Medical Center where police said she succumbed to her injuries. State polic...

Town of Bourne lifts boil water order

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:16 GMT

A boil water order issued for Bourne Water District customers has been lifted, according to town officials.The Town of Bourne announced Tuesday afternoon that the order was lifted effective immediately when officials received word from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.“The Bourne Water District collected samples as required by DEP yesterday and sent the samples for analysis,” a news release from the town stated. “This afternoon, DEP notified the Bourne Water District that the boil water order has been lifted.”The order was originally issued on Friday, Aug. 11, after e. coli had been detected in the water, according to Bourne Water District Treasurer Paul Moriarty.Customers affected included residents living on the Cape side of Bourne, “from the Sandwich town line to the Falmouth town line,” according to the police department.In its announcement, the town also shared advisories for residents when it comes to flushing househo...

Multi-vehicle crash in Dorchester leads to pickup truck driver striking house

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:16 GMT

A crash involving at least four vehicles in Dorchester Tuesday morning led to a pickup truck driver plowing into part of a house, authorities said.Massachusetts State Police spokesperson Dave Procopio said the truck driver was taken to a hospital after troopers and emergency crews responded to Gallivan Boulevard around 9 a.m.According to Procopio, the crash happened by the intersection with Oakridge Street and started after a collision between a Ford F-150 and Jeep Wrangler“That collision caused the F150 to veer off the road and strike the foundation of the house at 85 Gallivan Blvd., and the Wrangler to strike the two vehicles parked on Oakridge Street,” Procopio stated. “The cause of the crash is under investigation.”Authorities said the 63-year-old Dorchester man who had been driving the F150 was taken to a hospital and treated for what were possibly minor injuries. Also inside the pickup truck was a 63-year-old woman from Dorchester, who did not appear to...

Hawaii works to identify 99 confirmed dead in Maui wildfires as teams intensify search

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:16 GMT

By CLAIRE RUSH, JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER and CHRISTOPHER WEBER (Associated Press)LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii officials worked painstakingly to identify the 99 people confirmed killed in wildfires that ravaged Maui and expected to release the first names Tuesday, even as teams intensified the search for more dead in neighborhoods reduced to ash.A week after a blaze tore through historic Lahaina, many who survived have started moving into hundreds of hotel rooms set aside for displaced locals while donations of food, ice, water and other essentials have poured in.Crews using cadaver dogs have scoured about 25% of the search area, the police chief said Monday. Gov. Josh Green asked for patience and space to search properly as authorities became overwhelmed with requests to visit the burn area. “For those people who have walked into Lahaina because they really wanted to see, know that they’re very likely walking on iwi,” he said at a news conference on Maui, usi...

What is the NBA In-Season Tournament? Here’s how the new format will affect the Chicago Bulls season.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:16 GMT

Chicago Bulls fans got a first glimpse at the road map of the 2023-24 NBA season Tuesday as the league announced the schedule for the first In-Season Tournament.The tournament will give fans and players a taste of single-elimination competition by raising the stakes of several early regular-season games. The Bulls will play four games in the group stage — two at home and two on the road — to vie for a place in the knockout round.Both pride and money will be on the line for players, who could earn up to $500,000 each for winning the tournament.The group stage commences Nov. 3, and the Bulls will play their first game that day against the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center.Here’s what else to know about the new tournament.Bulls scheduleNov. 3 vs. Brooklyn NetsNov. 17 vs. Orlando MagicNov. 24 at Toronto RaptorsNov. 28 at Boston CelticsHow do the Bulls advance?The top team from each of the six five-team groups — three groups in each conference — will advanc...