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Early-week floods leave Western Mass. crops ‘a total loss’ for some farmers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:47:14 GMT

Jon Galenski’s land in South Deerfield was no exception to the widespread damage torrential rains inflicted on farms across Western Massachusetts earlier this week.The farm, which butts up against the Connecticut and Deerfield Rivers, lost about 120 acres of sweet corn, cabbage, winter squash, and pumpkins. That damage, Galenski said, accounts for about a fifth or sixth of all the crops he planted with his brother on their operation.“All the fields are in a lot of low-lying areas, and it just flooded everything out,” Galenski told the Herald by phone on Saturday.Severe storms inundated at least 75 farms this week and destroyed more than 1,000 acres of crops throughout the state, according to state officials. But the true extent of the pain from the rainfall and floods is still being determined, and long-term crop loss could make the financial impact even worse.Rainfall totals for the Berkshires and north of Springfield ranged from two inches near Worcester County up to six inches fu...

Iran’s morality police return to streets after protests in a new campaign to impose Islamic dress

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:47:14 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian authorities on Sunday announced a new campaign to force women to wear the Islamic headscarf and morality police returned to the streets 10 months after the death of a woman in their custody sparked nationwide protests.The morality police had largely pulled back following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September, as authorities struggled to contain mass protests calling for the overthrow of the theocracy that has ruled Iran for over four decades.The protests largely died down earlier this year following a heavy crackdown in which over 500 protesters were killed and nearly 20,000 detained. But many women continued to flaunt the official dress code, especially in the capital, Tehran, and other cities.The morality police were only rarely seen patrolling the streets, and in December, there were even some reports — later denied — that they had been disbanded.Authorities insisted throughout the crisis that the rules had not changed. Ira...

Analysis: Wimbledon’s champion says a taste for McDonald’s makes her normal. But she’s unique

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:47:14 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Marketa Vondrousova held four pieces of chocolate candy in her Wimbledon-winning left hand as she sat down with a half-dozen reporters for one of her last interviews of the evening.A special treat, perhaps, to reward herself for becoming a Grand Slam champion at age 24? Hardly.“I like sweets, so I’m always eating them,” Vondrousova said with a smile a few hours after beating Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 at Centre Court on Saturday to become the first unseeded woman to win the title at the All England Club.Some tennis players, it was pointed out, only allow themselves that sort of indulgence after a tournament finishes.“No,” came her reply, “I don’t really care about this stuff. I also had McDonald’s after, I think, (beating No. 4 Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals), so I’m just a normal person.”Hardly.There is something rather unique about Vondrousova, a left-hander from the Czech Republic who was the calmer player, with the steadier strokes, for the 1 hour, 20 min...

Earthquake off the Alaska coast triggers brief tsunami advisory, sending some residents to shelters

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:47:14 GMT

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake triggered a brief tsunami advisory for southern Alaska late Saturday, but the advisory was cancelled about an hour later, monitoring bodies reported. The earthquake was felt widely throughout the Aleutian Islands, the Alaskan Peninsula and Cook Inlet regions, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center. In Kodiak, Alaska, sirens warned of a possible tsunami and sent people driving to shelters late at night, according to video posted to social media.The United States Geological Survey wrote in a social media post that the earthquake occurred 106 kilometers (65.8 miles) south of Sand Point, Alaska, at 10:48 p.m. Saturday. The quake initially was reported as 7.4 magnitude but downgraded to 7.2 soon after.The U.S. National Weather Service sent a tsunami advisory saying the quake occurred at a depth of 13 miles (21 kilometers). The agency cancelled the advisory about an hour after the first alert.Before the cancellation, the National Weather Service in Anchorage,...

Israel’s Netanyahu is discharged from hospital after an overnight stay following a dizzy spell

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:47:14 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was discharged on Sunday after an overnight hospital stay for check-ups and monitoring following a dizzy spell.Netanyahu, 73, was rushed to Sheba Medical Center on Saturday after feeling mild dizziness. His office said he had left the hospital around midday after stating earlier that his test results were normal and that he was feeling “very good.” The medical center said Netanyahu was in “excellent” condition after a series of tests, including cardiovascular ones.Netanyahu’s office said he had spent the previous day at the Sea of Galilee, a popular vacation spot in northern Israel where temperatures climbed to about 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) amid a stifling country-wide heat wave. After a series of tests, the initial assessment was that the veteran Israeli leader was dehydrated.After being hospitalized, Netanyahu released a video on social media last night. Smiling, he said that he had been ou...

Foreign interference shows need for Canada to get serious on media literacy: advocate

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:47:14 GMT

OTTAWA — As federal parties craft the scope of a possible inquiry into foreign interference, Canada’s media-literacy charity argues governments and schools need to do a better job of preventing citizens from being manipulated by hostile states.“We are going to need a media-literate populace,” said Matthew Johnson, education director with MediaSmarts, a non-profit aimed at boosting critical thinking among Canadians.“Whatever the source of disinformation, but certainly including foreign interference, digital media literacy really is both the first and last line of defence.”In May, as wildfires in Alberta hit a peak, images of blazes from years past spread on Twitter, with false claims that entire towns had been destroyed. That same month, a phoney image of the Pentagon on fire circulated, with fabricated claims that an explosion had occurred in Washington.The two claims could be easily disproven by simple Google searches, such as a reverse-image search. B...

UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says he’ll quit government and stand down as a lawmaker

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:47:14 GMT

LONDON (AP) — British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Sunday he plans to resign at the next Cabinet reshuffle after four years in the job. Wallace has served as defense secretary under three prime ministers and played a key role in the U.K.’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He told The Sunday Times his departure was due to the strain his job had put on his family. He also said he would stand down as a lawmaker at the next general election. Wallace is the longest continuously serving minister in government. He was security minister under former Prime Minister Theresa May, before being promoted to defense secretary by her successor Boris Johnson.Wallace drew criticism last week when he suggested that Ukraine should show “gratitude” for the West’s military support. He made the remark at the NATO summit in Lithuania after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed frustration about when his country could join the military alliance. British Prime Min...

Readers and writers: Summer paperbacks to relax with

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:47:14 GMT

It’s the time of year for easy reading so today we offer three well-written paperbacks that will entertain you on the screen porch, at the cabin or in a hammock.(Courtesy of the author)Kathleen Glasgow (Courtesy of the author)“The Night in Question”: by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson (Delacorte Press, $19.99)This is so Agatha Christie: a secret passage, a hidden staircase, sneaking around in the dark with a storm raging outside. A shiver of pleasure runs through me. — From “The Night in Question”Alice Ogilvie and Iris Adams, teenage devotees of author Agatha Christie — are back for their second adventure after last year’s “The Agathas.”It’s been four months since the first book, when this unlikely pair solved the murder of their friend Brooke Donovan in the northern California town of Castle Cove. Alice comes from a rich family and was a member of the Mains, the group that runs their high school. Iris is poor and liv...

John Zorn’s 70th birthday celebration to kick of Walker Art Center’s performing arts season

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:47:14 GMT

An all-day celebration of avant-garde composer John Zorn’s 70th birthday will kick off the Walker Art Center’s 2023-24 performing arts season on Sept. 9.Zorn, who has a long-standing history with the Walker, will collaborate with more than 20 musicians — including guitarists Bill Frisell and Julian Lage, the JACK Quartet, keyboardist John Medeski and percussionist Sae Hashimoto — to create a series of one-of-a-kind musical experiences that respond to works in the Walker’s collection. It will also include three evening concerts in the Walker’s McGuire Theater.The rest of the Walker’s season, which was announced Wednesday, includes a series of music, dance and theatrical events, all of which take place in the McGuire Theater unless otherwise noted. For more details, see walkerart.org. Season highlights include:Alabaster dePlume: 8 p.m. Sept. 14, the leader of the London jazz/new music scene makes his Minnesota debut.Dianne McIntyre Group: 8 p.m. Oct. 5-7,...

Cottage Grove officials close on part of former Mississippi Dunes Golf Course for park

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:47:14 GMT

For as long as Zac Dockter can remember, city officials in Cottage Grove have been wanting a substantial city park on the Mississippi River.They’re finally getting their wish.City officials closed late last month on a 20-acre parcel that was once part of the Mississippi Dunes Golf Course.“You don’t feel like you’re in the middle of a bustling suburb right now, do you?” Dockter, the city’s parks and recreation director, said during a recent tour of the new park. “We have more shoreline than any other community in the metro and minimal public access, so this is huge for us.”The city’s only other park on the river, the Hazen P. Mooers Park, is tucked away on Grey Cloud Island. It’s a popular spot for kayaking, fishing, picnicking and bird watching on the Mississippi River, but it covers just 1 acre, Dockter said.Increasing public access to the river has long been one of the city’s top priorities, said Dockter, a Cottage Grove native who started working for the city in 2001....