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Western Carolina beats defending Southern Conference champion Samford 30-7

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:42 GMT

CULLOWHEE, N.C. (AP) — Cole Gonzales passed for 262 yards and two touchdowns, Desmond Reid rushed for 170 yards and a score, and Western Carolina beat defending Southern Conference champion Samford 30-7 on Saturday in a weather-delayed game.Western Carolina led 14-7 with 11:38 remaining in the second quarter when the game was delayed due to lightning in the area. The Catamounts had the ball after WCU’s first takeaway of the season. The game, originally scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. start, restarted five hours later at 9 p.m.Richard McCollum made two field goals in the closing 98 seconds of the first half to extend Western Carolina’s lead to 20-7. McCollum added an 18-yarder in the third quarter and Reid scored on a short run in the fourth.Western Carolina (1-1, 0-1 Southern Conference) ended a five-game winless drought against Samford (1-1, 0-1) with its first victory in the series since the 2017 season.Michael Hiers threw for 315 yards and a touchdown for Samford, which is ...

Tennessee State blocks game-tying field goal attempt to hold off UAPB in Southern Heritage Classic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:42 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jordan Grant and Demeatric Crenshaw each scored on short touchdown runs and Tennessee State got a bonus touchdown in an unlikely manner, defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff 24-14 on Saturday night in the 34th Southern Heritage Classic.The Tigers built a 17-0 lead through three quarters but had to hold on in the final minute when UAPB lined up for a tying 31-yard field goal attempt. The kick was blocked in the middle of the line and James Green scooped up the ball, broke a tackle and raced 92 yards for a touchdown.After the touchdowns by Grant and Crenshaw, James Lowery added a 23-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 17-0 lead with less than a minute to go in the third quarter.The Golden Lions then drove 75 yards and 99 yards for a pair of short touchdown runs of their own, cutting their deficit to 17-14. UAPB next drove 63 yards in 4 1/2 minutes to set up the field goal try, but the play ended in Green’s long sprint down the sideline.Deveon Bryant passed for 17...

Rishi Sunak defends net zero record, confirms he will attend COP28

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:42 GMT

NEW DELHI — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed he will attend the COP28 summit later this year as he defended his record on net zero.Sunak told reporters travelling with him to the G20 summit in India that achieving net zero emissions “if done in the right way can be very beneficial for jobs.”He added that he would be going to the COP28 summit starting November 30 in Dubai. There had been a question mark over his attendance given his checkered record on climate issues.His ruling Conservative Party has sought to draw a dividing line with Labour on climate policies in recent weeks by stressing that they shouldn’t lead to increased costs for families.Sunak told reporters in New Delhi that he did not think tackling climate change should involve a “hair shirt” approach of giving up luxuries or increasing people’s bills.“The net zero story for me shouldn’t be kind of hair shirt story of giving everything up and your bills going up,” he said. “That’s not the vision of...

Christie’s legacy lives on in ‘A Haunting in Venice’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:42 GMT

With Friday’s “A Haunting in Venice,” director-star Kenneth Branagh charts a surprisingly dark and sinister vision for this, his third Agatha Christie-Hercule Poirot murder mystery.Where Branagh’s “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Murder on the Nile” were lavish, all-star scenarios complimented by extensive CGI, “Haunting” is set entirely in a 1947 Venetian palazzo on the Grand Canal shockingly visited by violent death.It was screenwriter Michael Green who conceived the premise of a Halloween mystery by adapting Christie’s novel “Hallowe’en Party,” said executive producer James Prichard, CEO of the Agatha Christie Limited and the legendary author’s great grandson.“At first I wasn’t quite sure what Michael wanted to do or why,” Prichard, 53, explained in a Zoom interview from London.  “But his view was that we shouldn’t just do another big story in the traditional way, but maybe we should try something different, play with it a bit.“One of the things I actually learned ...

Squeeze amps up for Tuesday show in Boston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:42 GMT

Plenty of words have been used to describe Squeeze’s brand of pop: Catchy, melodic, classically English. And quite often the word “quirky” will get thrown into the mix as well.“I never got that, because I thought that what we did was perfectly normal,” singer and guitarist Glenn Tilbrook said recently. “But now when I listen back, we were pretty damn quirky. I mean, ‘Black Coffee in Bed’ has three different kinds of verses — Why did we do that? But it seemed normal at the time.”Normal or not, Squeeze wound up with a trunk full of killer singles, all of which should be played when they hit the Wang Theatre with the Psychedelic Furs Tuesday. Tilbrook and co-singer/writing partner Chris Difford have guided Squeeze through numerous lineups, but the new one is a little different. It’s the first septet version, adding a full-time steel guitarist (Melvin Duffy) and an extra singer/percussionist, Steve Smith who used to front the band Dirty Vegas (and lived briefly in Boston). So expe...

Keanu loves to sing and go swimming

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:42 GMT

Keanu is a sweet boy who loves to be outside and play with his toys. Those who know Keanu describe him as fun and adorable! Keanu loves to sing –  his favorite songs include “Old MacDonald,” “You are my Sunshine,” and “Wheels on the Bus.” Keanu enjoys swimming in the pool and swinging on the swing-set. His favorite food is pizza. Keanu’s favorite toys are those that light up; when presented with a new toy, he loves figuring out how to make it work and play music. Keanu loves to learn new songs from both his caregivers and peers.Keanu’s favorite time of the day is gym class. All of his teachers and providers constantly report what a joy he is to work with, and how much he participates in his lessons at school. He continues to make progress with his speech and walking skills.Keanu will need a family who can put some time into learning about his needs and learning how to set up the best possible environment for him. He loves spending time with his visiting resources who would lov...

For a stress-free getaway, follow this expert’s pre-travel tips

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:42 GMT

Friends often comment on the amount of travel I do. Especially how I can rack up the miles without being stressed out, exhausted and even overwhelmed at times. Truth be told, in my decades of pretty steady travel, I’ve had my moments. Haven’t we all?But in my years of zipping around both locally and globally, I’ve learned a few strategies to help make the travel itself a bit less stressful, a bit more seamless and more awesome than angsty.Here are some basics that help me be able to focus on fun, discovery and relaxation rather than logistics. Most are basic, but for those who may be new to travel or haven’t zipped off too often, they’re good to adopt. And sometimes even us long- timers need refreshers. Try these to make your road or air trip even better.All the apps: At home and on your own wi-fi, take time well before any trip to download all the apps that can make a trip better. I tell everyone: Download every major airline app now (even if you’ve not planned a trip as of y...

Child support hits speed bump over college costs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:42 GMT

Q. My wife and I are finalizing our divorce agreement in mediation and are stuck on child support.  My wife stayed home and raised our son from the time of his birth.  I encouraged her to return to work once he was in school – but she didn’t want to.  When Jack was 10, my wife received a sizeable inheritance and from that point on used that as an excuse not to return to work – we no longer needed the money.Fast forward to now, she is keeping her inheritance and I am keeping both of our homes and my retirement worth almost as much as her inheritance.  Jack just started Emerson College.  We did not save money for college because my wife said she would use her inheritance.  She changed her position and instead of paying for college she wanted us to each contribute half the cost of UMass Amherst with Jack paying the rest.  I would prefer to just pay for all of Jack’s college education.I had hoped paying for college would mean I don’t have to pay child support.  My wife wants full guidel...

Fall virus season looms – which vaccines should you get?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:42 GMT

A new COVID variant is circulating. Flu season is about to begin. Respiratory syncytial virus (known as RSV) is becoming a greater cause of hospitalizations.But this fall, something is different. The country has new vaccines for COVID, influenza and RSV, the three fall respiratory viruses that hospitalize and kill hundreds of thousands annually.“Go get those vaccines and it will make a dramatic difference in your getting sick this winter,” Dr. Ashish Jha, former White House COVID response coordinator told NPR. “We are going to be dealing with respiratory viruses forever but we are getting better at building treatments and vaccines. No one loves getting shots but these shots are literally saving lives.”Here’s a guide to fall vaccines, how to time them right, and where they are available.Seasonal influenza (flu)Doctors recommend an annual flu shot before the start of the season.What’s new this year: Each year the influenza vaccine is reformulated, but it doesn’t always match perfectly...

Badmouthing ex is harmful to son

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:42 GMT

Q. I had an affair, and my ex and I broke up. He tells our son every chance he gets what a terrible person I am. My son is too young to understand and now refuses to see his dad. My ex is convinced I’m the one putting our son up to it. I don’t know how to get through to his father that the badmouthing is what’s behind the refusing to see him? How do I get his dad to stop? What’s good ex-etiquette?A. When I have confronted parents about badmouthing, I’ve been told everything from “It’s no big deal, it won’t stick with them” to justifications for their behavior because they think their children should understand what a terrible person their father or mother really is.Rarely does the badmouthing parent realize what they are doing to their children.Children don’t disregard what their parents say when they badmouth each other. And thinking their parent is a terrible person rarely contributes to a child’s peace and security. Some children feel they have to shield t...