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F. Murray Abraham gives Mozart an encore with ‘The Magic Flute’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:16:01 GMT

It took F. Murray Abraham over 30 years to come to terms with his Oscar-winning performance in “Amadeus” and the result is Friday’s big-screen version of Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute.”Murray was named Best Actor for the hit film adaptation of the stage drama that questioned how God could bestow musical genius on low-class Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart while his God-fearing rival, Abraham’s Antonio Salieri, recognizes that he’s, at best, mediocre.A critical and box-office sensation, “Amadeus” (’84) won 8 Academy Awards and made Abraham a star.  “There was a time after I did ‘Amadeus,’” Abraham, 83, recalled in a phone interview this week, every role he was offered was in that same groove.“I just didn’t want to deal with it anymore. I thought, ‘I’m more than that movie. There are other things I can do.’ So I started doing more theater, classical stuff. But after all these years, I’m falling in love with the idea of still being associated with it because it still lives &...

Walters: Watershed moment in U.S. history gets a woke rewrite

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:16:01 GMT

Boston is known as the “Cradle of Liberty,” as the American Revolution that gave birth to the United States began here. The Old South Meeting House, where the Sons of Liberty denounced British rule and the Boston Tea Party began, and the Old State House, site of the Boston Massacre, are two of Boston’s most significant historical landmarks.Managing and operating these two special sites is Revolutionary Spaces, an organization whose mission is “bringing people together to explore the American struggle to create and sustain a free society.” In 2019, before the pandemic, I helped create the  “Reflecting Attucks” exhibit that honored Crispus Attucks, the first martyr for the cause of independence in America. Historians from many backgrounds worked together to assemble this singular installation, and we made something very special: an exhibit that put the past front and center, untarnished by partisanship or political correctness.On March 5, 1770, colonists ...

This year’s Oscar slate spotlights diversity & firsts

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:16:01 GMT

Salute this year’s Oscars — the 95th edition is televised live Sunday on ABC — as a monument to a diverse group of new faces.For the first time in Oscar history since 1934 ALL five Best Actors are first-time nominees: Colin Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Brendan Fraser, “The Whale,” Paul Butler, “Elvis,” Bill Nighy, “Living” and Paul Mescal, “Aftersun.”Also, of this year’s 20 acting nominees, 16 are first timers. Only Cate Blanchett with 8 nominations (and 2 wins), Michelle Williams (5), Angela Bassett (2) and Judd Hirsch (also 2), have previously been honored.Another first: All five Best Director nominees are also nominated for Best Screenplay: Steven Spielberg, “The Fabelmans,” Martin McDonagh, “Banshees,” Todd Field, “Tár,” Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and Sweden’s Ruben Östlund, “Triangle of Sadness.”Asian-Americans, habitually under-represented by the Academy, are spotlighted this year with nominees for Best Actr...

Throwback Thursday

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:16:01 GMT

They were the hottest tickets in town, if you could get them. Few could, but that didn’t keep U2 fans from swarming the area near the Somerville Theatre, hoping for a miracle, or even a glimpse of the band. The group played a private concert at the 1,000-seat theater, with tickets gone by showtime – most through local radio stations. When this March 11, 2009 photo was taken, Michelle Higgins of South Boston holds up her ticket and a local newspaper.  (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Dear Abby: Woman rethinks pledge she made to ailing BF

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:16:01 GMT

Dear Abby: My boyfriend of four years has been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. We’re both only 51. Obviously, we face a grim reality. He has already tried once to end our relationship to spare me the inevitable, but I convinced him I’m in it to the bitter end.Now he’s accusing his family (and me) of being interested only in interrogating him about his conversations with others regarding his condition. He has cut off contact for the last few days while he reevaluates all of his relationships. I’m respecting his wishes, which is so hard since we have never gone a day without speaking.My problem is the relief I feel. There are no meltdowns, no angry outbursts, no having to tiptoe around our conversations. Until now, I didn’t realize the pressure I was under. My dilemma now is: If he wishes to continue our relationship, should I? His anger is scaring me, and he’s losing himself so quickly. He’s not the man I grew to love...

3 LAPD officers in stable condition following shooting in east Los Angeles; suspect dead

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:16:01 GMT

A massive police response was deployed Wednesday night in east Los Angeles after three officers were shot.The shooting took place some time after 6 p.m. near the intersection of Mission Road and North Broadway in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood.Video from Sky5 showed a large perimeter set up around the scene for what appeared to be a barricaded suspect.A police source later confirmed to KTLA that officers had been in the area as part of a felony investigation. They observed the suspect walking down the alley, and then go into a residence.Police then set up a perimeter and a police K-9 unit was called to the scene.The suspect was located in a small room in the bottom of the main house. Officers called out to the suspect, but he refused to surrender. Eventually, tear gas was deployed and gunshots were fired, at which point the three officers were wounded.The suspect went back into the home where he remained as additional police and SWAT teams arrived to the scene. Police have been un...

Shooter sought in killing of San Diego man

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:16:01 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Authorities are searching for the person involved in the January killing of a 23-year-old man near a trolley station in the Encanto neighborhood, crime officials said.Officers found Najee Woods, of San Diego, shot on the evening of Jan. 10 at 6200 Akins Avenue, San Diego County Crime Stoppers along with San Diego police stated in a news release Wednesday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.Law enforcement believe a vehicle pulled up next to Woods and shot him while he was walking along the north sidewalk on Akins Street. Man fatally stabbed at gas station in San Ysidro No description has been released about the shooter, but their vehicle is a dark gray newer model small SUV, possibly a Honda, that was seen driving away from the incident northbound on 62nd Street, per officials.Anyone with information on the murder is asked to call the San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477. A $1,000 rew...

China’s Xi calls for ‘more quickly elevating’ armed forces

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:16:01 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s leader Xi Jinping has called for “more quickly elevating the armed forces to world-class standards,” in a speech days after he warned the country was threatened by a U.S.-led campaign of “containment, encirclement and suppression of China.” China must maximize its “national strategic capabilities” in a bid to “systematically upgrade the country’s overall strength to cope with strategic risks, safeguard strategic interests and realize strategic objectives,” Xi said Wednesday.His remarks to delegates in the ceremonial parliament representing the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the ruling Communist Party, and the paramilitary People’s Armed Police, were carried by the official Xinhua News Agency. Xi made a series of calls to accelerate the build-up of self-reliance in science and technology, bolster strategic capabilities in emergency fields, make industrial and supply chains more resilient and make national reserves “more capable of sa...

Jaded with education, more Americans are skipping college

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:16:01 GMT

JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) — When he looked to the future, Grayson Hart always saw a college degree. He was a good student at a good high school. He wanted to be an actor, or maybe a teacher. Growing up, he believed college was the only route to a good job, stability and a happy life.The pandemic changed his mind.A year after high school, Hart is directing a youth theater program in Jackson, Tennessee. He got into every college he applied to but turned them all down. Cost was a big factor, but a year of remote learning also gave him the time and confidence to forge his own path.“There were a lot of us with the pandemic, we kind of had a do-it-yourself kind of attitude of like, ‘Oh — I can figure this out,’” he said. “Why do I want to put in all the money to get a piece of paper that really isn’t going to help with what I’m doing right now?”Hart is among hundreds of thousands of young people who came of age during the pandemic but didn’t go to college. Many have turned to hourly jobs or car...

Australian PM kicks off India visit with cricket event

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:16:01 GMT

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — The prime ministers of India and Australia on Thursday lent a touch of cricket diplomacy to their ties as they inaugurated a test match between their two teams in the western city of Ahmedabad.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Indian host Narendra Modi handed caps emblazoned national emblems to rival captains Steve Smith and Rohit Sharma. They clasped their hands and raised them to the delight of thousands of cricket fans.The two prime ministers were cheered by cricket fans as they went around the stadium named after Modi and later sat down to watch the start of the game.Modi and Albanese also saw a photo exhibition highlighting their countries’ cricketing ties. The India-Australia cricket rivalry is considered one of the most intense in the world, comparable to the Ashes test series played between England and Australia.Albanese arrived Wednesday in Ahmedabad, a key city in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, at the start of his four-day visit to India....