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In ‘Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour,’ life is but a Dream House

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:07:23 GMT

“Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour”Not Rated. On VODGrade: A-A quarter century after its debut, the documentary “Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour” returns, and it is as ahead of its time as ever. Written and directed by Susan Stern, the documentary explores the Barbie phenomenon in ways that would cause conservative school board members, not to mention Mattel executives, to blow their stacks. In a new, expanded director’s cut released in anticipation of Greta Gerwig’s upcoming feature film “Barbie,” “Barbie Nation” starts out by demonstrating how some (very rich) Barbie collectors might think nothing of spending $4,000-plus in the late 1990s for a rare model of the doll at auction.The doll was launched in 1959 by Mattel and its visionary co-founder Ruth Handler, who believed correctly that girls would respond positively to an “adult” female doll and use it to help them express their own dreams and desires. Then, an off-camera voice reminds us, that Barbie was also “...

Luis Robert Jr. is healthy for the Chicago White Sox — and it shows in his stats: ‘The main key is being able to play every day’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:07:23 GMT

During the spring of 2020, Eloy Jiménez repeated his high praise for Chicago White Sox teammate Luis Robert Jr., saying the center fielder was “going to be the next Mike Trout.”Robert felt honored when he heard the comparison, but said through an interpreter Monday the Los Angeles Angels superstar was, “on a different level.”“If I’m able to keep playing for a very long time and sustain the level of success that I’m having now, then maybe at some point we can talk about that comparison,” Robert said. “But in the meantime, I just have to keep working hard.”Robert and Trout patrolled center field for their respective teams at Angel Stadium as the Sox and Angels began a four-game series.“It’s always good to see and follow players like Mike Trout,” Robert said. “Kind of players that are one in a generation. When we are on the field, we are competing. It’s always good to compete against one of t...

Chicago White Sox give up the game-ending run on a wild pitch in 2-1 loss: ‘We have to push some runs across the board’ (Update)

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:07:23 GMT

Chicago White Sox starter Dylan Cease struck out Mickey Moniak swinging on five pitches to begin the sixth inning Monday at Angel Stadium.Cease then struck out Mike Trout, also swinging and also on five pitches.Cease wrapped up the inning by striking out Shohei Ohtani swinging in a seven-pitch at-bat.Cease struck out 10 Los Angeles Angels batters in six-plus innings. But he left with the score tied and runners on first and second after consecutive singles to begin the seventh.The Sox got out of that jam, with Joe Kelly getting a strikeout and an inning-ending double play.But unfortunately for the Sox, they couldn’t repeat the feat in the ninth. Instead, they found another tough way to lose, falling 2-1 to the Angels in front of 28,554.The Sox lost without a ball being put into play in the ninth. Reynaldo López began the inning walking Trout. Aaron Bummer entered and walked Ohtani. Each moved up a base on a double steal.And with one out, Trout scored the winning run on a w...

Green burden: Higher costs come with climate regs

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:07:23 GMT

Climate-friendly building regulations could “push homeownership out of reach” for some Massachusetts families without additional financial support, according to a new report from the the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Massachusetts.The report estimates that the state’s new “net zero” residential building code updates are likely to increase the cost of home construction by roughly 1.8% to 3.8% — adding about $10,000 to $23,000 to the median cost of a single-family home. The researchers also estimated a 2.4% rise in construction costs for large multi-family buildings.State laws call for the state to reach its climate target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Currently, more than one-quarter of carbon emissions comes from the building sector, according to the report, most through on-site combustion of oil and methane for heating residential and commercial buildings.New state regulations seek to make these buildings...

Grant Williams open to returning to Celtics, but acknowledges challenges that could lead to departure

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:07:23 GMT

Grant Williams saw Marcus Smart get surprisingly traded by the Celtics last week and knows there’s a chance he might be the next core player leaving this summer.But the Celtics forward is leaving the outcome out of his hands.Williams will be a restricted free agent when free agency begins on Friday, meaning the Celtics will have the ability to match any contract offer he receives. After four seasons with the Celtics since being drafted in the first round in 2019, Williams is open to returning to the only NBA franchise he’s ever known. But he also recognized that looming salary cap limitations coming with the new collective bargaining agreement will make a deal to come back to Boston challenging.Williams discussed his future at an event sponsored by Fanatics in partnership with the Patriots on Tuesday in Foxboro, where Jayson Tatum was also in attendance.“Absolutely,” Williams told reporters on the possibility of returning. “It’s just a matter of, it’s a decision whether or not it’s ...

Revs’ keeper Djordje Petrovic named to MLS All-Star Team

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:07:23 GMT

The New England Revolution announced on Tuesday that goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic has been selected to the MLS All-Star Team.The MLS All-Stars will take on English Premier League power Arsenal on Wednesday, July 19 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. The Serbian national is the fifth Revolution goalkeeper to be selected to the MLS All-Star squad. Former Revolution keeper Matt Turner, the 2021 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, now competes for Arsenal.Petrovic was one of 26 players named to the roster and one of the dozen athletes selected by MLS All-Star head coach Wayne Rooney, the game manager of host D.C. United.Petrovic, who recently returned from international duty with the Serbian National Team, has a 9-3-6 record with six clean sheets, 75 saves and a 77.1 save percentage.

NU’s Mike Glavine named Northeast Regional Coach of the Year

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:07:23 GMT

Northeastern Huskies’ head coach Mike Glavine was named the Northeast Regional Coach of the Year for the second time by the American Baseball Coaches Association and the ATEC.The Huskies enjoyed a record-breaking season in 2023 by going 44-16 while earning an at-large bid to compete in the College World Series. NU recorded the most wins in program history and earned its first Top-25 ranking by DIBaseball.com.The Huskies broke several team and individual records this season. In addition to the most wins, the Huskies recorded 106 home runs, 459 runs scored, 614 hits and tied the mark with a .295 batting average.Glavine, a Billerica native, was earlier named CAA Coach of the Year for the fourth time. Glavine was the ABCA-ATEC Regional coach in 2018.

Judge, rejecting Trump arguments, signals he’ll let New York criminal case stay in state court

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:07:23 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge in New York City signaled Tuesday that the state criminal hush money prosecution of former President Donald Trump will soon be returned to state court because Trump cannot prove that he was acting in his capacity as president when he made payments to his private attorney.Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said he saw “no relationship to any official act of the president” in the actions cited in a prosecution that led Trump to plead not guilty in state court in April to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to hide 2016 hush money payouts to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters.He said he’ll officially rule within two weeks on Trump’s effort to move the prosecution to federal court from state court.The judge said there was “no reason to believe that an equal measure of justice could not be rendered by the state court.” Trump was indicted on charges that he falsified records at his company to cover up payments made in 2017 to...

North Carolina GOP bars promotion of certain beliefs in state government, 1 of 6 veto overrides

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:07:23 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s GOP-dominated legislature swept six bills into law Tuesday with veto overrides, including one barring promotion of certain beliefs in state government workplaces that some lawmakers liken to critical race theory and another placing new limits on wetlands protection rules.The measures, which also address green investing in state government, consumer loans and local government finances, became law after a succession of votes with margins large enough to overcome Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s formal vetoed objections earlier this month. Five of the veto overrides were completed Tuesday with House votes, which followed several similar Senate votes over the past week. A sixth veto override effort cleared both the House and Senate on Tuesday. The state constitution deems an override successful if at least three-fifths of the members in each chamber present and voting agree to enact the bill anyway despite the governor’s objections.The...

Golden anniversary turns tragic as couple, relative are fatally stabbed and beaten

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:07:23 GMT

NEWTON, Mass. (AP) — Jill D’Amore helped make Our Lady Help of Christians Church beautiful, tending to flowers and decorating the parish season by season. Her mother, 97-year-old Lucia Arpino, never missed morning Mass until the coronavirus pandemic hit. And Jill’s husband, Bruno, proudly flipped burgers at the parish picnic.Their apparently random beating and stabbing deaths over the weekend — when the church had planned to celebrate the D’Amores’ 50th wedding anniversary in a post-Communion blessing — have shaken the parish and the wider community of Newton, a city comprising a network of villages in suburban Boston.“It’s a shocking loss, the grief is horrifying. But I’ve got to say the love coming forth from the people has just been not surprising but so edifying and inspiring,” said the church’s pastor, the Rev. Dan Riley.Christopher Ferguson, 41, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Newton District Court to a murder charge in the death of Jill D’Amore, 73, alon...