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Hannah Waddingham takes viewers ‘Home for Christmas’ with holiday special featuring ‘Ted Lasso’ pals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:01 GMT

Hannah Waddingham’s friends weren’t exactly ready to celebrate Christmas when they received an invitation to attend a live taping of her holiday special last May at the London Coliseum.It “was uncommonly sweaty in London,” recalled Waddingham, “and there was us putting out an invitation saying, ‘Please wear your Christmas finery.’ So many of my friends rang me, were like, ‘Dude, really?’ I was like, ‘Yes, get your Christmas sweater out. If I’m going to be sweating, so can you.’”“ Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas,” debuting Wednesday (along with an accompanying soundtrack), is a dream come true for the performer, an Emmy Award-winner and three-time Olivier Award nominee. Her mother, Melodie Kelly, was an opera singer and Waddingham says she essentially spent her childhood at the Coliseum. “I’ve run around those corridors since I was 8 years old. The reason why I am who I am as a performer is from sitting in that theater watching the great opera sing...

What’s open and closed on Thanksgiving this year?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:01 GMT

The holiday season is here, which means spending time with family on Thanksgiving and also, for millions of people, hunting for the best deals on Black Friday.Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November each year, which takes place this week. A lot of national retailers are keeping the doors closed on Thursday to give employees time with families and to recharge for the holidays ahead. That includes some of the biggest chains like Walmart and Target, which plan to re-open stores on Friday. Here’s a brief rundown of store hours on Thanksgiving:Is Walmart open on Thanksgiving? Walmart will be closed on Thanksgiving. Is Target open on Thanksgiving?Target will be closed on Thanksgiving.Is Costco open on Thanksgiving? Costco will be closed on Thanksgiving.Is CVS open on Thanksgiving?CVS Pharmacy will be closing all non-24 hour locations early on Thanksgiving. You can call your local store or check store and pharmacy hours on the CVS Pharmacy website.Is Walgreens open on...

Base metal stocks help lead broad-based rally as S&P/TSX composite moves higher

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:01 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in the base metal stocks helped lead a broad-based rally as Canada’s main stock index moved higher in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also rose.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 58.08 points at 20,233.85.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 80.56 points at 35,027.84. The S&P 500 index was up 19.07 points at 4,533.09, while the Nasdaq composite was up 107.08 points at 14,232.56.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.84 cents US compared with 72.88 cents US on Friday.The January crude contract was up US$2.02 at US$78.06 per barrel and the December natural gas contract was down four cents at US$2.92 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was down US$9.50 at US$1,975.20 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$3.80 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) The Canadian Press

Experts say a wall that collapsed and killed 9 in the Dominican Republic capital was poorly built

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:01 GMT

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A concrete wall along an avenue in the Dominican Republic’s capital that collapsed over the weekend and killed nine people during heavy rains was poorly designed, experts said Monday.The government of the Caribbean country has come under scrutiny, with experts saying they had warned more than 20 years ago about the wall’s failures and lack of effort to fix them.“It has weaknesses in the design,” civil engineer Cristian Rojas told The Associated Press. “No anchors were placed, and that is why the wall collapsed.”Rojas, former president of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors, said the force of the water in a flooded adjacent avenue, combined with the type of wall that was built, led to the collapse.Dominican geologist Osiris de Léon recalled that the first warnings about the wall were made more than two decades ago. He posted a story from December 1999 on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which El Siglo newspaper q...

Germany pledges to invest 4 billion euros in green energy projects in Africa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:01 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The German government pledged Monday to invest 4 billion euros ($4.37 billion) in African green energy projects until 2030, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz saying that countries in Africa should benefit more from their wealth of raw materials. Scholz discussed the pledge at a news conference on the G20 Compact with Africa summit taking place in Berlin. He did not mention any specific projects but said the materials used in green energy should be processed in the African nations they come from. “This creates jobs and prosperity in these countries,” Scholz said. “And the German industry gets reliable suppliers.”Compact with Africa is based on an initiative launched by Germany during its chairmanship of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations. It aims to improve the economic conditions in the participating countries in order to make them more attractive for foreign private investment.Scholz said Germany should become a long-term and reliable partner to countries i...

Marlo Thomas celebrates Thanks and Giving’s 20th year and $1 billion raised for St. Jude hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:01 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — When families thank Marlo Thomas for the medical treatment they received at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, she kindly corrects them.“I say, ‘Well, you know, I’m not a scientist, I’m a wheelbarrow,’” the actress, producer and activist says with a smile that has been famous since her days starring in “That Girl.” “I take the wheelbarrow, put the money in it and bring it to the scientists.”And Thomas, who serves as St. Jude’s National Outreach Director, is a really good wheelbarrow.This year, St. Jude’s Thanks and Giving campaign celebrates its 20th anniversary and passing the fundraising milestone of $1 billion to support the hospital’s efforts to provide free medical care to children with cancer. The drive, which kicked off earlier this month and runs through the holiday season, also raises awareness for the work of the Memphis-based hospital, which was founded by her father, the late “Make Room for Daddy” star Danny Thomas, who pledged that families would nev...

Police testimony resumes in criminal trial of ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:01 GMT

OTTAWA — The criminal trial of two “Freedom Convoy” organizers resumed today after a two-week break with testimony from an Ottawa Police Service liaison officer.Const. Nicole Bach, the primary police contact for organizer Chris Barber during the three-week demonstration that gridlocked downtown Ottawa early last year, is set to be cross-examined today.Bach’s testimony was paused in October as defence lawyers argued for access to redacted police communications, including emails, police logs and transcripts of chats during the convoy.The judge in the trial decided that some of the information should be admitted as evidence in the trial.Bach testified earlier that Barber told her things were getting “out of control” in the early days of the protest, and that he conveyed protesters would only leave Ottawa if the prime minister were to recognize them and lift all pandemic-related mandates.Barber and Tamara Lich face multiple charges, including mischief, coun...

72-year-old man fatally shot in Logan Square ID'd, latest victim of Chicago gun violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:01 GMT

CHICAGO — A 72-year-old man fatally shot in the city's Logan Square neighborhood was among those killed in gun violence in Chicago over the weekend.The man was identified as 72-year-old Cesar A. PatinoThe shooting happened around 9:55 p.m. Sunday in the 3900 block of West Fullerton. Police said the man was walking when he was struck by gunfire.He was shot in the chest and transported to Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The man's identity has not yet been released.According to police, further investigation revealed the offender may have been traveling in a white SUV at the time of the shooting.No one is in custody. Area Five Detectives are investigating. Two 14-year-old boys found shot to death in alley on South Side The 72-year-old man is among the latest victims of weekend gun violence in Chicago.On Saturday, two 14-year-old boys were found shot to death in an alley on the South Side. The boys were found in an alley in the 800 block of East 89th Pl...

CTA Yellow Line service remains suspended following train crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:01 GMT

CHICAGO — Service on the CTA's Yellow Line is still suspended Monday following Thursday's derailment that injured 38 people.According to police, a yellow line train was travelling south near the 7500 block of North Paulina Street when it collided with rail-mounted maintenance equipment in the Howard Rail Yard on the North Side.The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said a preliminary investigation revealed that a design flaw in the CTA's braking algorithm was likely to blame for the crash.The train failed to properly account for the actual distance needed to come to a stop. NTSB: Preliminary investigation reveals design flaw likely to blame for CTA Yellow Line crash Two lawsuits have already been filed.

Man accused of beating Joliet nursing home resident to death with walker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:01:01 GMT

JOLIET, Ill. — Charges have been filed against a 71-year-old Joliet nursing home resident accused of killing a man on Friday, police say.According to Joliet Police, William Paschall has been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery to a person 60 years of age or older after he allegedly beat a 61-year-old man to death while in the laundry room of the nursing home where they were both residents. NTSB: Preliminary investigation reveals design flaw likely to blame for CTA Yellow Line crash Police say officers were called to Salem Village Nursing and Rehabilitation in the 1300 block of Rowell Avenue on Friday after reports of a battery that took place on the facility's sixth floor. When police arrived on the scene, they found the victim unresponsive in the laundry room.Officers say a preliminary investigation later revealed that Paschall had allegedly attacked the victim in the laundry room after he became angry about how the victim was using the washing machine. Police...