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Northern Va. nonprofit looking for Christmas Day volunteers to help pack gifts for soldiers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:56 GMT

A Northern Virginia-based nonprofit will be wrapping packages on Christmas Day for U.S. service members deployed around the world during the “America’s Adopt-A-Soldier 13th Annual Christmas Day Give Back.”While tens of thousands of service members are away from home, their support groups or loved ones during the holidays, Mary Keeser, founder and president of the program, is working to send service members “a hug from home” through care packages.“Everybody that we receive a request from during the holidays, hopefully, we can get out a package to them,” Keeser said.Keeser said the group packs items that are needed overseas — personal items, baby wipes, coffee, candy, cards, games, puzzles, writing material and powdered fruit drinks, to name a few.She says the boxes also include 10 to 20 care letters from people across the United States, from four-year-olds to adults with a spouse or child who served.CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE: This is one of the soldie...

Saturday high school roundup: Tildsley brothers of Shawsheen, Chelmsford’s Thomas Brown make wrestling history

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:56 GMT

SATURDAY ROUNDUPHistory was made at the prestigious George Bossi Lowell Holiday Wrestling Tournament over the weekend as the Tildsley brothers became the first set of siblings to win three titles apiece.Sidney Tildsley captured the 138-pound title when he pinned Shea Morris of Haverhill in 1:50. One match later, James Tildsley defeated Nick Fatone of Norwalk, Conn. 10-4 to put the brother tandem in exclusive company.Prior to Saturday, the only brothers to amass five titles were the Diamonds of Wellesley (Dean and Yanni), the Pedros of St. John’s Prep (Jimmy and Mike) and the Sheehans of Lowell (Pat and Brian). The Tildsleys also joined a group of 15 wrestlers to amass three individual championships. The Tildsleys were joined in the three-timer club by Thomas Brown of Chelmsford, who pinned Gabriel Thomas of Brookline at 1:44 to capture the heavyweight title.As for team competition, Shawsheen (179) finished third behind Newtown, Conn. (215.5) and Haverhill (210.5). Local champions in...

MLB Notes: Red Sox lineup still needs work heading into 2024

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:56 GMT

Who the Red Sox add to the starting rotation has dominated the conversation all offseason long, and most of the winter it’s felt like the sport’s held its breath waiting on Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto before any other business got done.But while pitching remains a big question mark, the Red Sox lineup probably isn’t too far from a finished product.The Red Sox have been vocal about their desire to add a right-handed bat, and they’ve already gotten one by trading for outfielder Tyler O’Neill to fill the void left by Alex Verdugo. The club also needs an upgrade at second base, and a reunion with designated hitter Justin Turner can’t be ruled out, but by and large we should have a good idea of what Boston’s lineup could look like on Opening Day.With the roster as currently constructed, here’s what the Red Sox are working with.Projected lineupJarren Duran LF, Masataka Yoshida DH, Trevor Story SS, Rafael Devers 3B, Triston Casas 1B,...

Judges to decide if 300 possible victims of trafficking from India should remain grounded in France

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:56 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Judges will decide Sunday whether about 300 Indian citizens, suspected of being victims of human trafficking, should continue to be sequestered in a small French airport.En route to Central America, the passengers have been held at Vatry airport — in Champagne country — since Thursday after a dramatic police operation prompted by a tip about a possible human trafficking scheme, authorities said. The passengers will appear before judges throughout the day, who will decide whether to extend their detention in the airport, according to the administration for the Marne region. If they can’t be held any longer, they will be free to leave the country. “I don’t know if this has ever been done before in France,” Francois Procureur, lawyer and head of the Châlons-en-Champagne Bar Association, told BFM TV on Saturday. The situation is urgent because “we cannot keep foreigners in a waiting area for more than 96 hours. Beyond that, it is the liberty and custody judge wh...

A weekend of combat in Gaza kills 14 Israeli soldiers in a sign of Hamas’ entrenchment

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:56 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Fourteen Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, the Israeli military said Sunday, in some of the bloodiest days of battle since the start of the ground offensive and a sign that Hamas is still putting up a fight despite weeks of brutal war. The mounting death toll among Israeli troops is likely to play an important factor in Israeli public support for the war, which was sparked when Hamas-led militants stormed communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 and taking 240 hostage. The war has devastated parts of the Gaza Strip, killed roughly 20,400 Palestinians and displaced nearly 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.The Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said 166 people were killed in the coastal enclave over the past day. Israelis still stand firmly behind the country’s stated goals of crushing Hamas’ governing and military capabilities and releasing the remaining 129 captives. That support has stayed mostly s...

Skywatch: Signs of Christmas in the skies

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:56 GMT

While we don’t have any Christmas constellations in the night sky, there are three celestial signs of the most wonderful time of the year among the stars. There are two in the evening and a bright one in the morning.The first and probably best sign of Christmas is a challenging one. It’s known formally in the astronomical books as New General Catalog Object 2264 or NGC 2264. Its nickname, though, is the Christmas Tree cluster because that’s exactly what it looks like. What’s really nice is that the cluster is easily visible through a small telescope or even a decent pair of binoculars.It’s easier to find in the dark countryside, but you shouldn’t have too much trouble even in light-polluted areas. You also have to stay up a little bit to see the Tannenbaum, but I know you’ll love it and want to share it with others. It’s so cute and hopefully will add to your holiday spirit.(Mike Lynch)After 8:30, it will be high enough above the eastern horizon to start your search. The Christmas T...

KARE 11’s Boyd Huppert talks about surviving, and thriving, more than two years after his cancer diagnosis

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:56 GMT

When asked if he remembers his lowest point during his ongoing battle with multiple myeloma, Boyd Huppert chuckled.“I do,” said the award-winning KARE-TV reporter and “Land of 10,000 Stories” host. “It was probably a week after the (bone marrow) transplant. You feel pretty good for four or five days, but then it was like a truck hit me and it was two weeks of feeling as sick as I’ve ever been.“Every day, we’d go down to the U for blood tests. Some days I needed platelets or anti-nausea drugs or fluids. (My wife) Sheri was going to drive us and I threw up in the driveway. That was my low moment. I told Sheri, ‘I don’t know if I could do this anymore.’ I was so sick and so exhausted and there I am, throwing up in my driveway. I don’t know that I can get any worse. And I don’t know that it ever did.”Indeed, more than two years after he was diagnosed with the relatively rare blood cancer that has no known cure, Huppert’s life is back to no...

Sunday Bulletin Board: Life can still surprise you, even when you’re 93 years old!

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:56 GMT

The kindness of strangersReports GRANDMA PAT, “formerly of rural Roberts, Wisconsin, now of St. Paul”: “One would think that by age 93, things would be mostly uneventful. Not so.“Case in point: A few days ago, two friends and I decided to go to O’Shaughnessy Auditorium, on the adjacent college campus, for a Kevin Kling performance. We settled into our seats a bit early. My seat was at the end of a row where there is a 1-foot dropoff from the aisle to the seating.“A woman came to our row carrying a glass of beer. She fell, showering me with beer. (Luckily she was not injured.) She was very apologetic, and hurriedly went off to gather an armful of paper towels. Next she proceeded to energetically wipe me down, all while apologizing. This was almost as traumatizing as the beer shower, but she meant well.“Then, when the show was over, we realized that the temperature outside had dropped enough to form a slick coating of ice on the sidewalks and parkin...

A man is killed and a woman injured in a 'targeted' afternoon shooting at a Florida shopping mall

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:56 GMT

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A man died in a shooting at a shopping mall in central Florida two days before Christmas in which the victim was “targeted” for the attack, police said. Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken told reporters Saturday evening that the man was killed after he was shot multiple times in a common area at Paddock Mall in Ocala, located about 79 miles (127 kilometers) northwest of Orlando. A woman also was shot in the leg. She was treated at a local hospital and expected to recover, Balken said.The suspect fled the scene and left behind the firearm, Balken said.Police arrived at the mall around 3:40 p.m. after a call of multiple shots being fired at the mall. “Officers immediately made entry into the mall (and) ultimately discovered that this was not what we would consider an active shooter,” Balken told reporters.The attack was likely a “targeted act of violence” against the man, Balken said. Several other mall patrons suffered injuries during the shooting, with one person havi...

Ask Amy: Sister’s married boyfriend is not welcome

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:56 GMT

Dear Amy: My sister “Kelly,” who lives out of state, won’t be joining us for Christmas because Mom said no when Kelly asked if she could bring her married boyfriend home to meet the family.I am firmly in Mom’s corner and am hurt and disappointed that she is choosing him over family. Kelly is my best friend.Kelly says the situation is “complicated,” but for me it’s not actually that complicated.My morals can be flexible at times, but marriage is an absolute line in the sand. I’ve been married 28 years and to me, marriage is SACRED.Am I being too judgy? Do I have to be supportive?Kelly is bound to bring him home at some point. I have no idea how to act.She is so much more than a side piece, and I’ve told her this many times.In the meantime, I’m simply asking for someone to pour a little more liquor into my eggnog.— SisterDear Sister: I wonder if there is ever a time when an extramarital relationship isn’t complicated. Of course it’s complicated!Bringing your married squeeze home...