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Volleyball notebook: Natick set for deep run

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

The concept isn’t exactly flashy, but Natick sophomore Branch Barnes is pretty hyped up over it.In the second set of a Bay State Conference bout on April 27, a talented Brookline squad was hammering spikes. It attacked the area around Harrison Landry perhaps the most within the frame’s first eight points, and the junior RedHawks setter needed to make four digs within the stretch.Normally, putting a setter into that spot forces a team out of system. Most programs run a 5-1 rotation with just the one setter. But Natick, which went on an 8-0 run before eventually winning the match 3-0, is different.“I set four balls from right-side, which is huge,” Barnes said. “When the setter (Landry) gets taken out like that, four times in eight points? We converted on all of them. … The big thing is (we have) two setters at all times. It’s very hard for us to get put out of system, we can usually get a good swing down.”It’s common for teams to run a situational 6-2 rotation, or at least experiment ...

Over 200 dead, many more missing after Congo floods

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

KALEHE, Congo (AP) — The death toll from flash floods and landslides in eastern Congo has risen beyond 200, with many more people still missing, according to local authorities in the province of South Kivu. Thomas Bakenge, administrator of Kalehe, the worst-hit territory, told reporters on the scene Saturday that 203 bodies had been recovered so far, but that efforts to find others were continuing. In the village of Nyamukubi, where hundreds of homes were washed away, rescue workers and survivors dug through the ruins Saturday looking for more bodies in the mud. Villagers wept as they gathered around some of the bodies recovered so far, which lay on the grass covered in muddy cloths near a rescue workers post.Grieving survivor Anuarite Zikujuwa said she had lost her entire family, including her in-laws, as well as many of her neighbors. “The whole village has been turned into a wasteland. There’s only stones left and we can’t even tell where our land once was,” she said....

Premier says more than 24,000 forced from homes by Alberta wildfires

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

CALGARY — Alberta’s premier says an emergency management cabinet committee is set to meet this afternoon as the number of wildfire evacuees in the province has grown to more than 24,000.Danielle Smith has told a news conference in Calgary that the committee may discuss implementing a provincewide state of emergency.Smith says there have been 45 new wildfires in Alberta since Friday morning, bringing the number of active fires to 103, with about 121,000 hectares burning.She says the situation is unprecedented and that hot, dry conditions — which mean only a spark is needed to start a fire — is “truly frightening.”Smith says Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis has spoken with federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair and that Ottawa is on standby to offer help if the province requests it.Some buildings have been destroyed, including 20 homes, a police station and a store in Fox Lake in northern Alberta. This report by The Canadian Press was first publi...

Mother and 11-year-old child fatally stabbed in Edmonton, suspect shot by police

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

EDMONTON — Family members of a woman and her 11-year-old child who were stabbed and killed in Edmonton have gathered with flowers and photos at a park near the scene of the attack.Police have said it happened around suppertime Friday outside Crawford Plains School in the city’s southeast.They said the 35-year-old woman was dead at the scene and the child later died in hospital.Police say two officers responded and shot a man matching a description of the suspect after an altercation.The man was in hospital in critical condition and Alberta’s police watchdog is investigating the shooting.Police said they do not know if the suspect knew the woman and child.Max Dow, 13, took a teddy bear to a makeshift memorial at the park on Saturday. Standing with his parents, he said he witnessed part of the attack.“It was really graphic, there was blood everywhere,” he said. “It was like right out of a horror movie.”He said the woman was with two children in a wh...

Feeling is believing: Inside the abbey for king’s coronation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Being there is better.I didn’t see much of the coronation of King Charles III and neither did many of the 2,300 or so other guests inside Westminster Abbey. We were too far away, or were seated behind the choir, or had our view blocked by a guardsman in a plumed helmet. But we heard it — and felt it — in a way that just wasn’t possible for those watching on television.It was in the moment the choir, organ and orchestra blasted out “Zadok the Priest,” Handel’s coronation anthem, so boldly that it startled me even though I knew it was coming. It was in the gusto with which the congregation shouted “God save the king!” after Charles was crowned. And it was in the joyous fanfare blown by trumpeters in the balcony where just a few months ago a lone bagpiper bid farewell to Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II.This was a moment of celebration for Charles and his supporters, a stark contrast to the day in September when the nation mourned the death of a queen who had reigned f...

Liberals reject balanced budget and mandatory voting as official policy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

OTTAWA — The Liberals have rejected a policy resolution that would have called on them to make a balanced budget part of their next election platform.The policy resolution brought forward by Quebec Liberals asks the party to develop a clear, costed proposal for a return to balanced budgets, and that it be part of their next election platform.It was rejected in a morning vote 97-76, without formal debate, and it will not be part of the official party’s policy.Liberals also rejected a policy resolution by Saskatchewan Liberals aiming to have voting in federal elections mandatory for all Canadians over the age of 18, and that failing to do so would result in a small monetary fine.Delegates at the Liberal Party convention, which concludes today, are set to vote on which 24 remaining policies will be their priority.They are also set to vote on a new party president.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2023.

Oak Forest Bowling Center 'total loss' after 3-alarm fire

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

OAK FOREST, Ill. — The Oak Forest Bowling Center was destroyed after a massive fire early Saturday morning.In a news release, the Oak Forest Fire Department was called to the bowling center around 2:30 a.m. in the 15200 block of South Cicero Avenue. Man shot and killed in grocery store parking lot in Englewood About 12 other fire departments were dispatched to help fight the massive three-alarm fire.No one was inside the bowling center when the fire started and no injuries were reported.The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Prince Harry an odd man out at father's coronation spectacle

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — In the fairy-tale ending to the ancient pageantry in which King Charles Ill was crowned monarch, he stepped into a gilded horse-drawn carriage with his queen and rode off to his palace.Following closely behind was Prince William, his eldest son and heir, along with his family, including 9-year-old Prince George who is second in line to the throne. The king's youngest son was nowhere to be seen. On his father's biggest day, Prince Harry arrived at Westminster Abbey alone and he left alone. The disgruntled Duke of Sussex was assigned to sit two rows behind his brother.His isolation was likely the result of him quitting his royal duties and, thus, no longer ranking as a senior family member — as well as alienating himself from his father and brother by airing grievances and telling palace secrets in his explosive best-selling memoir, “Spare.”If anyone was hoping the coronation would help break the ice between Harry and his brother, who were once so close, they are sure to...

20K at 25: Remembering Kerry Wood's historic strikeout performance at Wrigley Field

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

CHICAGO - One of the greatest pitching performances in the history of Major League Baseball turns 25 on Saturday - and it's a contest fans saw on Channel 9.The number that stood out that day was 20, and it came from a rookie pitcher wearing No. 34. Stepping to the mound on a mostly cloudy day at Wrigley Field on May 6, 1998, Kerry Wood dazzled the 15,758 fans who were at the matinee to watch the Cubs face the Astros. In just his fifth major league start, the rookie tied a major league record by striking out 20 hitters in a 2-0 victory over Houston. The nine-inning, 122-pitcher performance didn't include a single walk with Wood hitting only one batter and surrendering just one infield hit. After what he described as a bad pregame bullpen session, Wood would proceed to strike out 12 batters in the first six innings before turning it on late. He struck out the side in both the seventh and the eighth inning as he entered the ninth with the shot to either tie or break the MLB strikeout r...

Which is cheaper, Disneyland or Disney World?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

(NerdWallet) - When you’re deciding whether to vacation at Walt Disney World in Florida or Disneyland in California, there’s a lot to consider, like the size of the parks, the number of rides and the distance from home.But if you’re purely picking based on price, which is cheaper: Disneyland or Disney World?Disney World tends to be cheaper overall for stays of one night or more, largely due to Florida’s lower hotel prices. But for some expenses, like tickets and food, Disneyland is cheaper.A recent NerdWallet analysis looked at Disney World and Disneyland prices between April 2023 and April 2024 across four categories:Park tickets (and add-ons, like Genie+).On-property hotel room rates.Food at park restaurants.Add-on activities, like spa treatments and tours.Read more about NerdWallet’s methodology at the end of this piece.Here’s a closer look at the data on Disneyland versus Disney World costs.An overall cost breakdownDisney World tickets are about 3.9% more expensive than Disneyla...