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Santa helicopters into North End Christmas festivities

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:06:42 GMT

Santa landed in Boston Sunday afternoon weeks ahead of Christmas — helicoptering down into the North End Christmas Parade.“Hello children! Merry Christmas!” Santa called from his float traveling down Commercial Wharf, echoed excited holiday greetings.The festive annual parade kicked off by Christopher Columbus Park, where the helicopter landed, and winded its way around the North End streets. Locals lined the streets and hung out of their windows through the mild Sunday afternoon.Holiday staples including elves, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph marched along the route along with other characters from Barbie to Mickey Mouse to Wally the Green Monster.“I liked Rudolph best,” said 7-year-old local Riley, decked out in “Ho, Ho, Ho” pajamas. “Rudolph and Frosty said hi to me.”Throughout the route, carols and tunes blasted. Those playing included the Boston Fireman’s Band, Aleppo Shriners Units, Italian American Band, National Lancers of...

Week 14 updates: Chicago Bears take 10-0 lead before trailing Detroit Lions 13-10 at halftime

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:06:42 GMT

The 4-8 Chicago Bears will play the 9-3 Detroit Lions at Soldier Field in a Week 14 matchup.Halftime: Lions 13, Bears 10Lions quarterback Jared Goff led a 53-yard touchdown drive over five minutes near the end of the first half to give the Lions a 13-10 lead against the Bears at halftime.Goff hit wide receiver Josh Reynolds for an 8-yard touchdown pass to cap the drive, which included three third-down conversions. The Lions took the lead after trailing 10-0 in the second quarter.Goff completed 12 of 16 passes for 93 yards in the half, and Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 65 yards on seven carries.Bears quarterback Justin Fields, making his first home start since Oct. 15, completed 4 of 8 passes for 81 yards and had seven carries for 50 yards. He was sacked three times for a loss of 29 yards.Bears wide receiver DJ Moore scored on a 16-yard touchdown run on the opening drive to give the Bears a 7-0 lead. Moore took the direct snap, faked a handoff to Fields, cut toward the left sideline and ra...

52-foot whale washes up on Pacific Beach in San Diego

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:06:42 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A crowd of hundreds quickly formed as word spread of a whale that had washed ashore on Pacific Beach early Sunday morning.“We thought it was a tarp from out in the water, but eventually we realized it was a whale and I’ve never seen anything like it," said surfer Nick Hennis.“I’ve lived here for 7 years, and I’ve never seen a whale on the beach before," said surfer Ben Pallas.At around 8 a.m. Sunday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said it received calls regarding the beached whale. “We did an examination of the whale externally to look for signs of human interaction," said research biologist, Kerri Danil with NOAA. SeaWorld San Diego takes in cold-stunned sea turtle found stranded in Oregon waters The agency coordinated with San Diego Lifeguards to take a look at the whale on scene, which was dead upon their arrival. "What we can say is that it does not look like this animal died due to humans," explained Danil. "We did see signs or evidenc...

Vikings beat Raiders 3-0 in lowest-scoring NFL game in 16 years

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:06:42 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Minnesota and Las Vegas played the lowest-scoring NFL game in 16 years, with Greg Joseph’s 36-year-old field goal with 1:57 left giving the Vikings a 3-0 victory over the Raiders on Sunday.It was the first 3-0 game since Pittsburgh beat Miami on Nov. 26, 2007, the third in the past 40 years and the seventh in the Super Bowl era.Joseph’s kick ensured the game wouldn’t end regulation scoreless for the first time since the New York Giants played the host Detroit Lions to a 0-0 tie on Nov. 7, 1943.The Vikings (7-6) had just 230 total yards, and the Raiders (5-8) — losers of three in a row — were limited to 201 yards and nine first downs. Minnesota beat an AFC West opponent for the first time this season after going 0-3.It was Minnesota’s first shutout since defeating the Packers 16-0 on Dec. 23, 2017 and the first blanking of Las Vegas since its 24-0 loss to New Orleans on Oct. 30, 2022.Nick Mullens relieved a struggling Joshua Dobbs at quarterba...

‘The Zone of Interest’ named best film of the year by Los Angeles Film Critics Association

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:06:42 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jonathan Glazer’s chilling Auschwitz-set drama, “The Zone of Interest,” has been named best movie of the year by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. The critics group, which announced its picks late Sunday after a day-long meeting, also awarded prizes for Glazer’s directing and Mica Levi’s score. It selected Sandra Hüller, who stars in both “The Zone of Interest” and the French courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall,” for one of its two lead performance awards. The critics, as they often do, deviated considerably from their East Coast corollary, the New York Film Critics Circle. That group earlier named Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” the year’s best film. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association, which doesn’t delineate gender in its acting categories, gave all four of its acting awards to women. In the lead acting category, the winners were Hüller and Emma Stone, the star of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstei...

JCC Chicago celebrates 8 nights of Hanukkah

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:06:42 GMT

CHICAGO -- JCC Chicago marked the fourth night of Hanukkah with a Menorah lighting and celebration at Gallagher Way near Wrigley Field. The organization is celebrating the eight nights of Hanukkah with a series of free events for all ages.JCC Chicago Family programs manager Mathew Charnay said the event is a part of the Christkindlmarket, where a large menorah is present as well as learning how to play dreidel. "That’s what Hanukkah is really about just bringing light, bring light to this time in every way possible to spread positivity," Charnay said. JCC Chicago's president and CEO Addie Goodman says all are welcome to come together f or nightly events continuing this week including a family challah bake and a movie screening, wrapping up with a party for young adults on Thursday. "We should all be here together celebrating our holidays side by side as one big beautiful, shared community," Goodman said.For more on JCC Chicago's Hanukkah events, visit: Events Every Night! - JCC Chicago

St. Sabina Church helps migrants in Chicago with donations

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:06:42 GMT

CHICAGO — The migrant crisis continues to grow in Chicago with several more buses expected to arrive on Sunday.Since the migrant crisis began in August 2022, more than 25,000 people have arrived in the city. Major changes to US immigration policy are under discussion: What to know In Auburn Gresham, one church held a giveaway on Sunday to help those in need.Migrants have been coming to St. Sabina for quite some time now. The giveaway included things like teddy bears, bus cards, clothes and hygiene products. "We are spending somewhere between $12-15,000 a week on coats, cards, McDonalds," Father Michael Pflegere said. He said the vast majority is from donations but as the group grows, more help is needed.There are about 13,600 residents across the city being housed at 26 different shelters. Still, almost 400 are waiting at police districts across the city.

Photos: Bighorn sheep gets stuck on roof of home in Colorado

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:06:42 GMT

BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) -- A bighorn sheep got stuck on top of a Colorado house before it finally made its way to the ground a day and a half later, according to wildlife officials.The Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Northeast Region said the incident happened in Boulder on Tuesday. The agency posted images of the animal on X, formerly Twitter, and said, "This is not the type of clatter you want to hear on your roof during December."A bighorn sheep was stuck on top of a house in Boulder before it finally made its way to the ground a day and a half later. (Photo courtesy: Colorado Parks and Wildlife)A bighorn sheep was stuck on top of a house in Boulder before it finally made its way to the ground a day and a half later. (Photo courtesy: Colorado Parks and Wildlife)A bighorn sheep was stuck on top of a house in Boulder before it finally made its way to the ground a day and a half later. (Photo courtesy: Colorado Parks and Wildlife)A bighorn sheep was stuck on top of a house in Bould...

Laptops for the holidays: ‘Chromebook Plus’ machines fill a gift-giving niche

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:06:42 GMT

I am crazy about Chromebooks, those weirdly web-centric laptops invented by Google in the late aughts and later popularized in K-12 classrooms — if you don’t have a child who uses one in school, you know someone who does.But does a Chromebook make a good holiday gift as an alternative to, say, a Windows PC or an Apple Mac? Sure, at least for some people — those with Gmail accounts are the best candidates — but you want to pick a decent machine. The chintzy ones used in public education won’t cut it.Enter “Chromebook Plus.”Google has joined with its hardware partners Asus, Acer, HP and Lenovo to make Chromebook shopping a cinch. They have applied the new “Plus” label to eight machines that have decent specs but aren’t budget busters. The idea here is for consumers to grab the laptop with “Plus” on the box because, well, it has to be good, right?Yeah, it mostly is.I have tried two Chromebook Plus models and I like them enough to recommend; more on those i...

Nick Mullens replaces Josh Dobbs at QB to lead Vikings over Raiders 3-0

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:06:42 GMT

LAS VEGAS — The stage was set for the Vikings to prove to everybody — incliding themselves — that the nasty loss heading into the bye week was a fluke. It came in the form of a brief residency in Las Vegas, which, fittingly, featured thousands upon thousands of Vikings fans making road trip to Minnesota.Instead, after a 12-10 loss to the Chicago Bears the last time out, the Vikings did very little to instill confidence in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Not that they need to apologize for a win.The Vikings’ offense was once again nonexistent with journeyman quarterback Josh Dobbs leading the charge. It got so bad that veteran quarterback Nick Mullens came on in relief. That provided the Vikings with the spark they needed, as Mullens finished 9 of 13 passing for 83 yards, which included a big throw to rookie receiver Jordan Addison late in the game.That connection set up kicker Greg Joseph for a 36-yard field goal that went down as th...