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‘Summoning the Spirit’ a Sasquatch misfire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:17 GMT

Every day is a good day for a Sasquatch movie. But not every Sasquatch movie is top grade.“Summoning the Spirit” from director and co-writer Jon Garcia is an admirable attempt to move the Bigfoot genre in a new, more up-to-date direction, beginning with making the two, young married leads, Carla (Krystal Millie Valdes) and Dean (Ernesto Reyes) a Latino couple, who often switch from English to Spanish when speaking alone together. These characters experience the tragic loss of their unborn child in the opening scenes.Dean is a not very successful writer, working on his second book. Carla says she is a therapist. But the truth is, she also seems in need of one in this dire time. The recent loss and some apparent infidelity on Dean’s part casts a shadow over them and their future.To make a new start just before the miscarriage, they take a house in the deep woods (the film was shot in Oregon). The weaknesses in the screenplay by Garcia and Zach Carter (“Spunk’s Not Dead”) a...

Mary Ann Esposito celebrates summer with a tomato gratin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:17 GMT

A tomato gratin is one of my go-to dishes for summer eating and is a super delicious side dish made with garden ripe cherry tomatoes and a good way to use up all those extra tomatoes you planted. Really important is the quality of the bread and a sturdy, country loaf type will hold up beautifully.Summer Tomato GratinServes 4Extra virgin olive oil4 cups 1-inch diced ciabatta bread cubes2 cloves garlic, minced5 cups cut cherry tomatoes1 teaspoon salt1 tablespoon sugarGrinding black pepper1 cup diced Swiss, Montasio or Italian Fontina cheese2 tablespoons chopped basilPreheat oven to 350FHeat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a stovetop to oven casserole dish and brown the bread cubes in batches; transfer them to a bowl; add more oil as needed to brown the remaining bread cubes.Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in the same pan and cook the garlic until golden; stir in the tomatoes, salt, sugar and pepper and cook until the tomatoes exude their juices. Return the bread cubes to the pan and pr...

How a last-minute CBA change allowed the Knicks to sign Dylan Windler

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:17 GMT

After a series of moves last week geared toward the end of the roster, the Knicks filled their final two-way contract thanks to a new rule and an assist from Harry Giles.Dylan Windler, who officially signed with the Knicks on July 26, became the first player to benefit from ‘The Harry Giles Rule,’ which redefined the ‘years of service’ requirements for two-way contract eligibility.Before that alteration, Windler would’ve been ineligible for a two-way contract because he exceeded the maximum of three years of service. But Windler also missed his entire rookie season in Cleveland with an injury, which is now taken into account by the NBA after a successful appeal from Giles and his New York-native agent, Daniel Hazan.“It feels great to see that the rule is in full effect,” Giles told the Daily News. “I look forward to more guys getting an opportunity.”It was, essentially, an 11th-hour switch to the Collective Bargaining Agreement. ...

Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann wins heated GOP primary as statewide candidates square off

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:17 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann defeated state Sen. Chris McDaniel in the state’s bitter Republican primary for lieutenant governor, staving off a primary challenge for one of the most powerful positions in Mississippi government. Tuesday’s results are the culmination of a contest that divided conservatives and turned increasingly nasty in its final weeks. Hosemann, 76, is seeking a second term as lieutenant governor after serving three terms as secretary of state. He had called McDaniel a “pathological liar” and accused his campaign of “despicable” behavior.McDaniel’s loss Tuesday was his third unsuccessful campaign for higher office after two failed bids for U.S. Senate in the past decade. The four-term state legislator of Ellisville, hammered Hosemann throughout the campaign cycle for, in his view, being insufficiently conservative.On the campaign trail, Hosemann touted a teacher pay raise, millions in new funding for public education, and a budget surplus. McDani...

Death toll in recent Beijing flooding rises to 33, with 18 still missing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:17 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — The death toll in recent flooding in China’s capital rose to 33, including five rescuers, and another 18 people remain missing, officials said Wednesday, as much of the country’s north remains threatened by unusually heavy rainfall.Days of heavy rain hit areas in the city’s mountainous western outskirts especially hard, causing the collapse of 59,000 homes, damage to almost 150,000 others and flooding of more than 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of cropland, according to the city government.Scores of roads were damaged, along with more than 100 bridges, Xia Linmao, a Beijing vice mayor, said at a news conference on Wednesday. The casualty and damage numbers were current as of Tuesday, Xia said, adding that rescue efforts remained underway. Given the level of damage, it could take up to three years to restore full functions, Xia said.Other parts of China have also seen heavy flooding, partly from the impact of Typhoon Doksuri over the weekend, leaving dozens...

Hawaii wildfires burn homes, prompt evacuations while strong winds hamper fire crews

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:17 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — Several Hawaii communities were forced to evacuate from wildfires that destroyed at least two homes as of Tuesday as a dry season mixed with strong wind gusts made for dangerous fire conditions. The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which was passing to the south of the island chain at a safe distance of 500 miles (805 kilometers), was only partly to blame for gusts above 60 mph (97 kph) that toppled power lines, rattled homes and grounded firefighting helicopters. “It’s kind of because of Hurricane Dora, but it’s not a direct result,” said Jeff Powell, a meteorologist in Honolulu. “It’s just a peripheral result.” Hawaii was sandwiched between high pressure to the north and a low pressure system associated with Dora, he said, noting how it was sunny and very dry.The dryness and the gusts “make a dangerous fire situation so that fires that do exist can spread out of control very rapidly,” Powell said. Maui and the Big Island were contendi...

From upsets to record attendance, these are the trends that have emerged at the Women’s World Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:17 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — The traditional elite have been cut down to size at the Women’s World Cup. That has been the standout theme as a tournament that has already set records for attendance and goals scored enters the quarterfinals stage, and it has made for high drama. “It’s been absolutely incredible and a great testament to some of the work that is happening around the world,” FIFA’s head of women’s football, Sarai Bareman, told The Associated Press. “To see the results of this World Cup brings so much meaning to the work that we do. “It’s really special, not only for the players and the teams, but for those of us who are working on the game day in and day out.”Soccer’s world governing body FIFA is trying to grow the women’s game at pace, and it seems to be having an impact.Established nations have fallen one by one over the past two weeks, with the back-to-back defending champion U.S. team joining No. 2-ranked Germany, Brazil and Olympic gold medalist...

New York governor recalibrates on crime, with control of the House at stake

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:17 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is toughening her public safety platform to help Democrats retake control of the House, a strategic reset after Republicans won a series of upsets in the state’s congressional races by seizing on concerns over crime.The recalibration follows a disastrous midterm election cycle for Democrats in New York after Republicans flipped four U.S. House seats in the state last year, helping them win control of the chamber.The Democratic losses were blamed by many, including those in her own party, on Hochul’s apparent failure to mount a forceful, top of the ticket response to fears about crime, a key Republican point that resonated with voters in New York City’s suburbs.Ahead of next year’s election, the governor has begun amplifying centrist tweaks to the state’s bail laws as well as a slate of new policies on firearms.“You can’t say you’re serious about fighting crime if you’re not serious about getting illegal guns off our streets,...

The UN announces that a deal has been reached with Syria to reopen border crossing from Turkey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:17 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations announced late Tuesday that an agreement had been reached with Syria to reopen the main border crossing from Turkey to its rebel-held northwest for six months. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the “understanding” reached following talks between U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and Syrian officials, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said. The agreement will reopen the Bab al-Hawa crossing which has been used for 85% of deliveries to the northwest Idlib region.Haq’s statement followed his earlier announcement Tuesday that Syria has agreed to keep two other crossings to the northwest, Bab al-Salameh and al-Rai, open for three months until Nov. 13. The U.N. Security Council had failed to adopt either of two rival resolutions on July 11 to authorize further deliveries through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing to Idlib province.It is home to about 4.1 million people, many of whom have been forced from their homes during t...

Scientists look beyond climate change and El Nino for other factors that heat up Earth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:17 GMT

Scientists are wondering if global warming and El Nino have an accomplice in fueling this summer’s record-shattering heat.The European climate agency Copernicus reported that July was one-third of a degree Celsius (six-tenths of a degree Fahrenheit) hotter than the old record. That’s a bump in heat that is so recent and so big, especially in the oceans and even more so in the North Atlantic, that scientists are split on whether something else could be at work.Scientists agree that by far the biggest cause of the recent extreme warming is climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas that has triggered a long upward trend in temperatures. A natural El Nino, a temporary warming of parts of the Pacific that changes weather worldwide, adds a smaller boost. But some researchers say another factor must be present.“What we are seeing is more than just El Nino on top of climate change,” Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo said.One surprising source of added warmth could be cl...