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South Florida drama teacher who includes deaf students in school shows will receive a special Tony Award

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The special Tony Award that honors educators will go this year to a drama teacher in Florida who has closed the gap between the deaf and hearing worlds by having productions performed in both voice and American Sign Language.Jason Zembuch-Young, artistic director of the public South Plantation High School, in Plantation, Florida, is being honored for “empowering every student to make and be part of theater.”“I didn’t start out with a mission of let’s be as inclusive as we possibly can. I’ve always championed the underdog because I kind of relate to that,” he told The Associated Press ahead of the formal Wednesday announcement. “What made sense to me was if there’s somebody that’s standing in front of you and they want to work, well, let’s put them to work and let’s figure out a way to have them be as successful as they possibly can.”Zembuch-Young runs a theater department with more than 150 students participating, which includes putting on both a full-length mus...

Under pressure, Commission delays foreign funding disclosure plan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:14 GMT

In the fight against foreign interference, the European Commission is making a tactical retreat.Rather than debut its “defense of democracy” package next week as planned, the Commission will instead conduct an internal analysis to game out possible effects of the proposal, Věra Jourová, Commission vice president for values and transparency, told MEPs on Thursday.The retreat is, in part, from foes — specifically the Chinese and Russian hackers and bots that could poison the next election. But it’s also from NGOs — the Commission’s usual allies in the fight against malign influence — who have railed against a plan to make interest groups disclose foreign funding.The delay calls into question whether the file — promised by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in last year’s State of the Union speech — will be ready ahead of the European Parliament election, just over a year away.At issue was a potential directive that would require all interest groups to disclose their non-E...

Macron, Scholz call for fresh elections in Kosovo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:14 GMT

BULBOACA, Moldova  — French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for fresh elections in several disputed Kosovo districts on Thursday amid tensions with the area’s Serbian population. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo’s Vjosa Osmani met with Scholz and Macron on the sidelines of a summit of the European Political Community in Moldova.Kosovo has been rocked by renewed violence after the Kosovar authorities sought to install ethnic Albanian mayors in offices in northern districts. These mayors had been elected with a turnout of less than 4 percent of the vote, after Serbs boycotted the polls. “There have been in northern Kosovo tensions that were due to the regrettable holding of polls even though the conditions were not fulfilled to guarantee proper process … this led to an escalation of violence,” Macron told reporters. According to the French president, Osmani and Vučić agreed to consider a plan presented by France and G...

Investigation underway after ‘apparent homicide’ outside Marlboro hotel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:14 GMT

An investigation got underway Thursday after what officials described as an “apparent homicide” in the parking lot of a hotel in Marlboro. Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan and Marlboro Chief of Police David Giorgi said police first responded to the hotel, located on Lakeside Avenue, around 12:30 p.m. Officials said the woman who died was an adult female. A suspect was later taken into custody, according to the DA and the police chief. The investigation into this incident was ongoing as of Thursday afternoon. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Police make new arrest in connection with Manchester, NH graduation party shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:14 GMT

A third suspect has been arrested in connection with a shooting that left four people wounded at a graduation party in Manchester, New Hampshire, according to officials.The Manchester Police Department said 22-year-old Trenton Liggins was arrested on Wednesday, nearly three weeks after two men approached a group of people near Ahern and O’Malley Streets on May 13 and shot into the crowd.All four victims struck, two men and two women, suffered non-life-threatening, according to police.Officers later arrested 21-year-old Emmanuel Sayle and 20-year-old Griffin O’Neil, also of Manchester, both of whom are facing firearms-related charges.In the case of Liggins, the 22 year old is facing four counts of Felony Criminal Liability (Accomplice) to Reckless Conduct.Liggins was scheduled to be arraigned in Hillsborough Superior Court North sometime on Thursday, June 1.

Pickleball pros, amateurs invited to compete at Fenway Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:14 GMT

Fenway Park is welcoming a new sport to the iconic baseball field. A three-day pickleball tournament, with professional and amateur play, is coming to Boston July 13 to 16. Fans are encouraged to attend with access to the concessions and even the courts.Registration opens Thursday to rent one of the 12 temporary courts in the outfield. These courts can be rented for up to 10 people for 80 minutes. Amateurs can register to be randomly selected to compete as well.This tournament is the first of three ballparks featured in Pickleball4America’s Ballpark Series and the only one on the East Coast. Fenway Park joins Oracle Park in San Francisco and Coors Field in Denver in bringing pickleball to their communities

Wegmans to close store in Natick Mall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:14 GMT

The Wegmans grocery store inside the Natick Mall will soon close, Wegmans officials announced Thursday. The store opened in 2018. Roughly five years later, officials said the site is set to shut its doors “later this summer.”“Making these decisions is never easy. However, we do it for the long-term benefit of our people, our customers, and our communities,” said Wegmans New England division Human Resources Director Brien MacKendrick. “Unfortunately, with this non-traditional location we are unable to attract enough customers for our business model to work.”Wegmans said it identified Natick as an ideal location for a store in 2009. When the Natick store eventually opened in the Natick Mall, officials said the site’s 134,000 square feet across two levels made it one of the company’s largest locations.Among amenities, the store also opened with its in-house fast-casual restaurant counter, The Burger Bar, serving burgers, salads, sandwiches, milkshakes, soup, and sides.While an exa...

Hurricane season is here: NOAA predicts a ‘near-normal’ season with 12-17 named storms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:14 GMT

After last year’s hurricane season peaked with the incredibly powerful, deadly and destructive Hurricane Ian, what do meteorologists expect for this summer and fall?As the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season kicked off on Thursday and goes until Nov. 30, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters are predicting “near-normal” hurricane activity this year.NOAA forecasters with the Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, are projecting a range of 12 to 17 total named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher). Of those, five to nine could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including one to four major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher).The upcoming Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be less active than recent years, due to competing factors — some that suppress storm development and some that fuel it — driving this year’s overall forecast for a near-normal season.“...

Max Scherzer, Mark Canha power Mets past Phillies to complete sweep with 4-2 win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:14 GMT

The Mets needed a sweep as badly as Mark Canha needed home runs. They got both of those this week in a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies.Canha powered the Mets past the Phillies for the second time in as many days with another two-run homer that helped the team defeat its NL East rivals 4-2 on Thursday afternoon at Citi Field. His timely hitting has been crucial for the Mets in the series and he’s been responsible for six of the Mets’ eight runs.Right-hander Taijuan Walker made his Citi Field return and took the loss thanks to Canha’s shot in the bottom of the fourth. The Mets (30-27) were down 2-1 when the outfielder took a 3-1 fastball over the fence in left-center field. Walker left a 90 MPH fastball right out over the middle of the plate. It was a meatball of a pitch and Canha did what good hitters do with that kind of pitch, homering for the fifth time this season.That inning was the end for Walker (4-3). His outing started with a tribute video on ...

Money stored in Venmo, other payment apps could be vulnerable, financial watchdog warns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:14 GMT

By KEN SWEET (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Customers of Venmo, PayPal and CashApp should not store their money for the long term with these apps because their funds might not be safe during a crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned on Thursday. The alert comes several weeks after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank, which all experienced bank runs after fearful customers with uninsured deposits pulled their money en masse. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures bank accounts up to $250,000. But money stored in Venmo or CashApp or Apple Cash is not being held in a traditional bank account. So, if there is an event similar to a bank run with these payment apps, those funds may not be protected. Some of these funds may be eligible for pass-through insurance coverage if the customers do certain activities with the apps, the CFPB says, but generally by default these apps are not covered by deposit insurance. Fo...