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Taylor Swift kicks off US Eras Tour at Super Bowl stadium

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Taylor Swift opened her U.S. concert series with a three-hour tour of her career. Swift kicked off the first concert of the 27-date Eras Tour with a six-song set from her album “Lover” on Friday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the Super Bowl was played a month ago. “I don’t know how to address the way this is making me feel right now,” Swift, who hasn’t toured since 2018, said early in the show.She ended the concert with a seven-song set from her latest album “Midnights,” closing with the song “Karma.” In between she played clusters of songs from most of her albums — and just one, “Tim McGraw,” from her 2006 self-titled debut. In the end it took 44 songs and just over three hours for her to span her 17-year career. Having not toured for her previous three albums, this concert series is intended to play catchup by providing the live debut of many of those songs. When Swift announced the tour in November she called it “a journ...

Slain officers’ families will get $100,000 from Heroes’ Fund, Alberta premier says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the families of two Edmonton police officers who were fatally shot this week will each receive $100,000 from the province’s Heroes’ Fund.Smith made the announcement Saturday during her weekly provincewide radio program while addressing the deaths of Const. Brett Ryan and Const. Travis Jordan.The officers were gunned down Thursday by a teen who later killed himself while they were responding to a non-violent domestic dispute at an apartment building.“One of the things that we have to support families is our Heroes’ Fund — we brought that in in 2020 — so the families will get $100,000 each to be able to help with the costs associated with having to deal with this horrible tragedy,” Smith said Saturday.The fund was established as part of the Ensuring Safety and Cutting Red Tape Act, 2020, and the government’s website says it is intended to recognize the sacrifices of first responders who die as a result ...

French protesters march past garbage piles, resisting Macron

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A smattering of protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise France’s retirement age from 62 to 64 took place Saturday in Paris and beyond, as uncollected garbage reeked in the streets of the French capital amid a strike by sanitation workers. Largely non-violent protests were held in various cities, including Nantes and Marseille, where protesters got past police to occupy the main train station for around 15 minutes. In the eastern city of Besancon, hundreds of demonstrators lit a brazier and burned voter cards.In Paris, police sought to restore calm after two consecutive nights of unrest. Police banned gatherings on the Champs-Elysées avenue and the elegant Place de la Concorde, where protesters tossed an effigy of Macron into a bonfire as a crowd cheered Friday night. Several thousand protesters gathered Saturday evening at a public square in southern Paris, the Place d’Italie, then marched toward Europe’s biggest waste incineration plant, ...

2 people show up in hospital suffering from gunshot wounds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

Police are investigating after two people showed up in hospital suffering from gunshot wounds on Saturday.Police say they were initially called to the area of Kingston Road and Lawrence Avenue East just before 3:30 p.m. for reports of gunshots. While they were investigating, a man in his 20s showed up at a hospital with a non-life threatening gunshot wound. Shortly thereafter a second victim showed up at a hospital also suffering from a gunshot wound. His injuries were also considered non-life threatening. Police believe the two victims are connected to the same shooting.

Chicago mayoral candidates meet for Saturday forum

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

CHICAGO — A coalition of African American leaders organized a forum Saturday with less than three weeks until the runoff election in Chicago.Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas both used the forum to lay out their vision of how they would lead if they became the next mayor of Chicago. Endorsements continue to Chicago’s mayoral election "This is a battle of politics of old that have left Black communities behind versus a better, stronger pathway forward," Johnson said.Vallas said it is a battle to make sure every community in the city is safe and secure. The forum was held inside the Kenwood Academy. Both candidates were asked a variety of questions, including whether Johnson, who is endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, disagrees with the union on any key issues. "There might be a point within negotiations that the CTU quest and fight for more resources, we may not be able to do it," Johnson said. "So who better to deliver bad news to friends than a friend?"Vallas was asked the same...

Some drop to freezing by Sunday morning

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Spotty sprinkles and light raindrops will continue to wrap up for the few southern counties in the KXAN viewing area that did pick up measurable rainfall today.Some areas may have even seen snow Saturday morning. If you did, let us know at [email protected] points if you have pictures! For the majority of us...the temperatures were just too warm for snow with 40s and low 50s most of the day. NEW BLOG: April showers: Here's the outlook for Central Texas Tonight will be mostly to partly cloudy. As the clouds try to part we'll see temperatures drop into the 30s for most everyone by the time you start your Sunday. A few spots in the Hill Country could drop to near freezing so it would be worth it to protect your plants tonight for those of you near and west of 281.Forecast low temperatures Sunday morningSunday we expect a mostly cloudy morning followed by breaks of sun developing for the afternoon. That sun should allow temperatures to push into the upper 50s...

Nonprofit hosts event to expose health disparities affecting Black people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) –  Volunteers from an Austin nonprofit hosted an event Saturday at the Montopolis Recreation Center to help raise awareness of health disparities affecting African Americans in their community. Black Americans are much more likely than any other race to have kidney failure. For every three people living with kidney failure in the United States, one is African American, according to the American Kidney Fund. Further, Black people have higher rates of illness and death compared to White people. Black individuals are more likely to report being in poor health, die of cancer and experience barriers when accessing health care, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.“Our goal was to have a Black family expo to expose some of the health disparities and things that we can do about them to make a difference,” said Dr. Dominique Isaac Williams, who was there working with the Links Incorporated – a large nationwide organization of Black women. Saturday, voluntee...

New Yorker cartoonist’s graphic memoir is St. Croix Valley Big Read for 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast’s award-winning graphic memoir “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?” is this year’s NEA Big Read in the St. Croix Valley.(Courtesy of ArtReach St. Croix)The purpose of the program, run by Art Reach St. Croix in Stillwater, is to “have as many people as possible finding connection through reading a common book,” said ArtReach executive director Heather Rutledge.A month of events centered around themes in the book kicks off with “NEA Big Read Kick-off and Exhibition Opening” from 6-8 p.m. March 30 at ArtReach St. Croix in Stillwater. The free event features two concurrent exhibitions in the gallery space: “Roz Chast: Upper West Side Meets Upper Midwest” and “Art on Caregiving, Aging, Death and Dying.”At 2 p.m. April 2, Minnesota Public Radio’s Cathy Wurzer will present “End in Mind’s Art of Difficult Conversations” at Trinity Lutheran Church in Stillwater. The event will feature improv artist Tane Danger, audience participation and the launch o...

Looking at both offside calls that cost Wild in loss to Bruins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

It’s not so much that the Wild were making excuses for themselves after a 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center. They were simply being realistic.The fact is, had a couple of officials’ calls gone the other way, the whole game might have been different.It started with Matt Dumba scoring a goal early in the game that would have put the Wild up 2-0 only to have the officials rule that Connor Dewar had been offside. It continued with Matt Boldy scoring a goal midway through the game that would have tied the score 2-2 only to have the officials rule that he himself was offside.“They were both offsides,” coach Dean Evason said. “There’s nothing to complain about.”As much as that might be true, the Wild were clearly frustrated with how things played out.“It’s the way it goes sometimes,” Marcus Johansson said. “The first one I think was obvious when we looked at it. The second one was really close, so...

Bruins snap Wild’s franchise-best point streak with 5-2 win

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

On paper, the Wild were always going to struggle in this particular game against the Boston Bruins.In a matchup with the NHL’s best team, the Wild were without their best player (Kirill Kaprizov), arguably their best defenseman (Jonas Brodin), a top pair defenseman (Jake Middleton), their alternate captain (Marcus Foligno), and a gritty glue guy (Brandon Duhaime).In the end, that proved too much to overcome as the Wild suffered a 5-2 loss to the Bruins on Saturday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center. That snapped their franchise-best point streak at 14 games.No doubt the most frustrating part of the game was that the Wild probably felt they deserved a better fate. Not only did they battle tooth and nail for 60 minutes, they had a pair of goals wiped off the board on offside calls. That overshadowed an otherwise impressive effort given the circumstances.“Obviously, they’ve been the best team in the league the whole season,” Marcus Johansson said. “We proved ...