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Ticker: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle part ways with Spotify; Next round of COVID-19 shots in fall will target latest omicron strain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

The production company founded by Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, is splitting ways with Spotify less than a year after the debut of their podcast “ Archetypes.”It is unclear why the podcast, hosted by Meghan, is leaving the platform but Spotify and Archewell Audio said in a joint statement that the decision was mutual.Archewell landed a multiyear partnership with Spotify in 2020 to create podcasts and shows that would tell stories through diverse voices and perspectives.The podcast premiered in August last year with tennis great Serena Williams as a guest and it was an instant hit.It topped Spotify charts in seven countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., and it won the top podcast award at the People’s Choice awards last year.Next round of COVID-19 shots in fall will target latest omicron strainThe next round of COVID-19 vaccines will target one of the latest versions of the coronavirus, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.FDA’s decision came one da...

Central Catholic quarterback Blake Hebert commits to Clemson

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

LAWRENCE — One of New England’s top quarterbacks is officially off the board.Surrounded by friends and family, Central Catholic sophomore quarterback Blake Hebert announced his verbal commitment to Clemson University on Friday morning at the high school.Hebert’s commitment caps off a rigorous few weeks that saw the Boxford resident pick up notable offers from Connecticut, Boston College, Auburn and Clemson.“It was just all about the feeling I had when I was there,” Hebert said. “I had a blast visiting with the coaching staff and the campus. After I left the feeling of excitement lasted longer. I mean, ‘why not Clemson?’ ”Central Catholic coach John Sexton has been fielding calls on the Raiders’ signal caller for the better part of two months. The Lawrence school became a revolving door in recent weeks as coaches walked in to meet Hebert and get a look at his size and physicality. At 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, Hebert became of instant ...

Man exhibiting mental crisis charged in unprovoked shooting of pregnant woman in Seattle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — A man who police say was exhibiting signs of a mental health crisis after he shot and killed a pregnant restaurant owner in her car in downtown Seattle this week was charged Friday with first-degree murder in her death, and prosecutors said they are seeing whether they can also charge him for the death of the baby girl the woman was carrying.Cordell M. Goosby, 30, was arrested Tuesday soon after witnesses said he ran up to a car occupied by Eina Kwon, 34, and her husband, Sung Kwon, 37, the owners of a sushi restaurant near the city’s famed Pike Place Market, and started firing a stolen gun into the vehicle without provocation. Eina Kwon, who was eight months pregnant, was killed. Sung Kwon suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and the fetus died soon after emergency delivery. The King County Prosecutor’s Office said Friday that state law allows murder charges to be brought if the victim was “born alive”; it is reviewing medical records to determine whet...

Republicans tout conservative credentials in lieutenant governor primary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

FLOWOOD, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and state Sen. Chris McDaniel, the fellow Republican trying to unseat him in a primary challenge, each sought to burnish their conservative credentials in speeches at the Mississippi Press Association convention on Friday.Hosemann, of Jackson, is seeking reelection for a second term as the state’s second-highest-ranking official. Hosemann served three terms as secretary of state before winning the lieutenant governor’s race four years ago. McDaniel, of Ellisville, is a four-term Mississippi legislator who has lost two races for U.S. Senate in the past decade, including a bitter 2014 election that he refused to concede. In Mississippi, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately. Public education funding, the rate at which to lower the state’s income tax and efforts to shrink the size of government featured prominently in both Republicans’ speeches. Hosemann portrayed himself as an austere steward...

Brittney Griner misses Mercury’s game at Mystics with hip injury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Brittney Griner missed the Phoenix Mercury’s game at the Washington Mystics on Friday night because of a hip injury.Griner was ruled out roughly 20 minutes before tip-off. It’s the first game she has missed this season since returning from her imprisonment in Russia.Griner was nevertheless embraced by opponents in the nation’s capital down the road from many of the folks in the U.S. government who worked to get her home. She was freed in December as part of a high-profile prisoner exchange after spending eight months in jail on drug charges, when Russian authorities said Griner carried vape canisters with cannabis oil into the country.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsStephen Whyno, The Associated Press

Mississippi GOP governor and Democratic challenger spar over crime, courts and trans care

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

FLOWOOD, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and the Democrat who is trying to unseat him this year, Brandon Presley, traded barbs about crime, courts and transgender health care Friday in separate appearances before newspaper editors and publishers.Reeves, seeking a second term, said at the Mississippi Press Association convention that Presley has failed to answer questions about two bills that Reeves signed into law. One bans gender-affirming health care for transgender minors. The other expands the role of state police in Mississippi’s capital city and creates positions for some judges who are appointed in a state where most judges are elected.Reeves said people tell him they worry that “the lines between boys and girls are disappearing,” and he shares those concerns.“We signed bills in Mississippi to prevent children from getting life-altering, experimental procedures,” Reeves said.Reeves’ language echoes that of groups that oppose LGBTQ+ right...

Home and camper on the wish list for Victoria, B.C., couple after $35M lotto win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

VANCOUVER — A couple from Victoria, B.C., are $35 million richer after claiming the whopping sum at a B.C. Lottery Corp. celebration in Vancouver.  Lahsen Rezrazi and Debbie Ramsay say they plan on buying a home and a camper van with the prize money after splitting the $70 million jackpot with another winner in Ontario for the June 6 draw.Rezrazi says he stopped at a grocery store for milk and cream on his way to pick up Ramsay from work where he checked his lottery tickets. He says he initially won a modest $10 dollar prize and a free play before scanning the jackpot-winning ticket, and then called his wife with the news. Ramsay says she could hardly contain a scream, and even went back to the store to scan the ticket for herself, also double-checking it with the lottery corporation’s mobile app. The couple says they are going on an “epic” cross-Canada road trip with plans to surprise family members along the way with cash gifts.This report by The Canadian Press w...

Letters containing suspicious white powder sent to lawmakers, officials across Kansas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Letters containing suspicious white powder have been sent to lawmakers and other public officials across Kansas, officials announced Friday.No injuries have been reported, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. It had counted more than 30 letters as of late Friday afternoon. The news release didn’t provide details about the consistency of the white powder.In emails sent to legislators and obtained by The Topeka Capital-Journal, Tom Day, director of Legislative Administrative Services, said the Kansas Highway Patrol had informed his office of the letters, which contain a return address of either Kansas City or Topeka.The letters were sent to legislators at their homes and have been turned over to the KBI and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Day wrote.Other agencies involved in the investigation include the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Office of the State Fire Marshal and local police and fire departments.Kansas Attorney General ...

Severe storm kills 3 in southern Brazil, 12 still missing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Authorities of the southern Brazil state of Rio Grande do Sul said Friday that three people died and 12 were missing after a winter storm swept through the region. Gov. Eduardo Leite said two people died in the city of Sao Leopoldo and one was killed in Maquine, on the state’s coast.“Our priority at the moment is to find those missing and save people who might still be isolated due to the floods,” Leite said on Twitter. He said President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva offered federal help to handle the crisis.Several roads were still blocked in Rio Grande do Sul, flights to the state’s main cities were cancelled throughout the day and electricity was out across state.Mayors of cities that were affected said twice as much rain fell in 24 hours than would normally be expected for the entire month of June.The mayor of Maquine said on his social media channels that precipitation in his city surpassed 29.4 centimeters (about 11 inches) in one day.Experts said the ...

Balloons, tears and hugs as family of girl who died in Border Patrol custody holds New York funeral

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Balloons with rainbows and Minnie Mouse surrounded the casket of an 8-year-old girl who died in Border Patrol custody as dozens of people gathered Friday to remember Anadith Tanay Reyes Alvarez in New York City. Her family had been heading to the city last month before their journey across the southern U.S. border ended in tragedy. The child’s death has put the U.S. government under new scrutiny over the care given to thousands of detained migrants.The girl’s mother, Mabel Alvarez Benedicks, hugged almost every guest at the R.G. Ortiz Funeral Home, thanking them for coming to honor their daughter. She grabbed a handful of tissues to wipe her eyes and nose.Anadith had a history of heart problems and sickle cell anemia, her mother has said. An internal investigation found that Border Patrol medical personnel were informed about the girl’s medical history but declined to review the file before she had a seizure and died May 17, her family’s ninth day i...