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Leonard Bernstein’s family defends Bradley Cooper’s portrayal in ‘Maestro’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:56 GMT

(CNN) — The children of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein are defending the actor Bradley Cooper’s portrayal of their late father in an upcoming film.After the first trailer for “Maestro” released this week, some critics on social media raised concerns the makeup worn by Cooper to portray Bernstein in the film reinforced hurtful antisemitic stereotypes.Other critics raised questions about the casting considering Bernstein’s heritage. He was born in Massachusetts to Jewish immigrants from Russia. Cooper is not known to be of Jewish ancestry.Bernstein’s three children Jamie, Alexander and Nina took to Instagram to share a statement about the backlash Cooper has faced since the release of the trailer on Wednesday.“Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father,” their statement reads. “We were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment, his loving embrace of our father’s music, a...

DJ Stewart mashes 2-homers, Tylor Megill bounces back as Mets roll past Pirates

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:56 GMT

The Mets need some unlikely heroes right now and they got on Wednesday in the form of DJ Stewart.The outfielder hit two runs home to bring his total to three in the last 48 hours to help the Mets slug past the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-3 on Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field. Pete Alonso also hit his 36th home run to move into sole possession all-time of 10th place on the franchise’s all-time RBI career RBI list with 465.After dropping two of three during the worst stretch of the season in Pittsburgh (54-67) in June, the Mets (55-66) took this series by the same score.Stewart sparked a second-inning rally with a leadoff shot off right-hander Johan Oviedo (6-13). The Mets went up 3-0 in the inning thanks to a two-run double by Francisco Lindor, but the Pirates came right back to score two in the top of the third.In the fifth, the visitors went to the bullpen after Oviedo walked Alonso to lead off the inning. Ryan Borucki retired Jeff McNeil before walking Daniel Vogelbach and giving ...

Proposed redevelopment of Shattuck Hospital would not lead to a Mass and Cass 2.0, officials say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:56 GMT

Redeveloping Shattuck Hospital into a multifaceted campus featuring clinical services, emergency shelters and permanent supportive housing would not result in a Mass and Cass 2.0, according to officials overseeing the plan.The project, not yet approved, would address some of the largest problems that have turned the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard into a drug-addled homeless encampment, officials say.Shattuck Hospital would be replaced with three buildings at Franklin Park that could offer up to 446 treatment beds and 405 units of supportive housing for individuals and families.Services would be integrated, and inpatient and outpatient clinical services would prioritize longer-term care for people recovering from opioid use, with those in acute treatment accounting for less than 10% of the population on site, said Rob Koenig, executive director of strategic programs for Boston Medical Center.“We are confident that this site is not the next Mass and Cas...

Ayotte demands Dem rival’s answer on sanctuary cities, citing Bay State emergency

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:56 GMT

Despite the fact the New Hampshire primary must be held before either of them starts running for governor in earnest, it’s clear from her messaging that former U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte has zeroed in on Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig as her most likely 2024 rival.On Wednesday, Ayotte issued a statement demanding to know Craig’s stance on so-called sanctuary cities while pointing south toward the Bay State, where Gov. Maura Healey recently declared a state of emergency existed due to an influx of migrants.“Like her Massachusetts Mentor Maura Healey, Joyce Craig has supported radical immigration policies like Sanctuary Cities,” Ayotte said. “Our neighbors are being forced to pay millions for services for illegal immigrants and they are even being asked to house illegals in their private homes. New Hampshire residents deserve to know: Does Joyce Craig still support these disastrous sanctuary policies after the damage caused in Massachusetts?”Ayotte’s campaign went on to cite testimony wh...

Georgia prosecutor seeks March 4 trial date for Trump and 18 others

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:56 GMT

ATLANTA — The prosecutor in Atlanta who obtained an indictment this week against former President Donald Trump and 18 others wants to take the case to trial in March.Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said in a proposed scheduling order filed with the court Wednesday that she wants the trial to start on March 4.That would have the trial starting a day before Super Tuesday, when the most delegates are at stake in the primary contest to decide the next Republican presidential nominee. Roughly 14 primaries are set to be held across the country, from California and Texas to Massachusetts and Maine. Trump is currently his party’s dominant frontrunner.Trump and 18 others were indicted Monday by a Fulton County grand jury. They are accused of committing various crimes as part of a scheme to keep Trump in power after his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.Willis is also proposing that arraignments for the defendants happen the week of Sept. 5. She had already set a dead...

Veto overridden: Ban on gender-affirming care for minors takes effect in North Carolina

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:56 GMT

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM (Associated Press/Report for America)RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Transgender youth in North Carolina lost access Wednesday to gender-affirming treatments after the Republican-led General Assembly overrode the Democratic governor’s vetoes of that legislation and other bills touching on gender in sports and LGBTQ+ instruction in the classroom.GOP supermajorities in the House and Senate enacted — over Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto — a bill barring medical professionals from providing hormone therapy, puberty-blocking drugs and surgical gender-transition procedures to anyone under 18, with limited medical exceptions.The policy takes effect immediately, but minors who had begun treatment before Aug. 1 may continue receiving that care if their doctors deem it medically necessary and their parents consent.North Carolina becomes the 22nd state to enact legislation restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for trans minors. But most of those laws face legal challenges, and ...

Boston City Council ballot drawing listed Kendra Lara as Kendra Hicks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:56 GMT

A few eyebrows were raised when the Boston Election Department listed City Councilor Kendra Lara as Kendra Hicks at a lottery drawing that determined what order candidates will appear on the preliminary ballot.The drawing was held Aug. 7, less than a week after questions about Lara’s name change were raised at a Boston Ballot Law Commission hearing, where a residency challenge against the councilor was considered and ultimately dismissed.Sabino Piemonte, the city’s head assistant registrar of voters, said the discrepancy was just a mistake on his part that was quickly corrected. The incumbent’s name is listed as Kendra Lara on the ballot for the Sept. 12 preliminary election, he told the Herald Wednesday.“That was a typo when I was typing it up when we were doing the drawing,” Piemonte said. “There’s a previous file that we use on that, and unfortunately, I forgot to change her name to Lara. She made all the proper documentation and changes here with our office.”A screenshot provide...

Inmates at California women’s prison sue federal government over sexual abuse

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:56 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Eight inmates at a San Francisco Bay Area lockup — dubbed the “rape club” by prisoners and workers alike — filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the federal Bureau of Prisons, saying sexual abuse and exploitation has not stopped despite the prosecution of the former warden and several former officers. The lawsuit filed in Oakland by attorneys representing the inmates and the advocacy group California Coalition for Women Prisoners also names the current warden and 12 former and current guards. It alleges the Bureau of Prisons and staff at the Dublin facility didn’t do enough to prevent sexual abuse going back to the 1990s. An Associated Press investigation last year found a culture of abuse and cover-ups that had persisted for years at the prison, about 21 miles (34 kilometers) east of Oakland. That reporting led to increased scrutiny from Congress and pledges from the federal Bureau of Prisons that it would fix problems and change the culture at the prison.The Bur...

Police who fatally shot a pregnant woman are sued by her family in Colorado

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:56 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Destinee Thompson was supposed to be on her way to lunch with her stepmother in August 2021 when Colorado police, mistaking her for a robbery suspect, fatally shot the pregnant mother as she fled in her minivan.Frustrated by the district attorney’s decision last year not to charge the officers, Thompson’s family filed a wrongful death and excessive force lawsuit on Tuesday against five officers from the Denver suburb of Arvada who were present when she was killed. “I want their badges,” said Francis Thompson, Destinee’s father. “She’s 5-foot tall, seven months pregnant. … You’re a grown man and you’re threatened by that? You don’t deserve to be able to wear a badge.”They allege Destinee Thompson’s race — she’s part Hispanic and part Native American — played a role in her being targeted. Officers were looking for a suspect described as white or Hispanic. “If this was a affluent white person getting into her vehicle, they would never have st...

B.C. police seek suspected getaway driver in killing of Sikh temple leader Nijjar

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:56 GMT

SURREY, B.C. — Homicide investigators in British Columbia say they are seeking the suspected getaway driver for the killers of Surrey Sikh temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down on June 18.Sgt. Timothy Pierotti of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said the suspect waited in a car for two men who shot Nijjar in his own vehicle in Surrey, B.C., outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, where Nijjar was president.Pierotti told a media briefing on Wednesday that the suspect drove a silver 2008 Toyota Camry that was parked near 121 Street and 68 Avenue before and during the killing.Anyone who was aware of the vehicle has been asked to contact investigators.Investigators previously said they were seeking two “heavy-set” suspects seen fleeing the scene.The killing has prompted protests outside Indian consulates and accusations of foreign involvement.Pierotti said he was aware of posters across Metro Vancouver that suggest Indian diplomats were involved in ...