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Thread count: 100 million, and climbing

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:12:51 GMT

NEW YORK — Celebrities, lawmakers, brands and everyday social media users are flocking to Meta’s freshly minted app Threads to connect with their followers, including many Twitter refugees tired of the drama surrounding Elon Musk’s raucous oversight of that platform.The question is: Will they stay?Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in a Threads post Monday that in the five days since its launch, 100 million people have signed up for Threads, which was rolled out as a companion app to Instagram.Ann Coleman is among them. The 50-year-old, who lives in Baltimore, said she joined Threads after hearing about the platform from a comedian she follows on social media. She said she loves Twitter and has been using it for more than 10 years. She even met her husband on there.But Coleman, who is politically progressive, has been looking to switch to a new platform because of Musk’s political views and changes he’s made to Twitter, like upending its verification system. Sh...

Concord suspicious fires: Woman identified as suspect for the alleged arson at the post office, National Park, swim center

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:12:51 GMT

The arson suspect who allegedly set the four suspicious fires in Concord over the weekend has been identified as a woman, who was sent to the hospital for evaluation, according to officials.Local, state, and federal agencies are investigating the four fires that were intentionally set at the Concord post office, National Park and a swim center on Sunday.The first two fires were reported at noon at the front and rear of Beede Swim and Fitness Center at 498 Walden St., which is located on the campus of Concord-Carlisle Regional High School.Then the next fire was reported about 30 minutes later at the U.S. Postal Service at 34 Walden St.The fourth fire was reported about 30 minutes later at a shed on National Park property at 955 Lexington Road.No injuries were reported at any of the scenes. Investigators determined that the fires had been intentionally set.“One adult suspect was located in Arlington late in the day and sent to an area hospital for evaluation,” the Massachu...

Sweden moves closer to NATO membership after a deal with the Turkish president

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:12:51 GMT

By KARL RITTER, LORNE COOK and SUZAN FRASER (Associated Press)VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Sweden’s membership of NATO took a big step forward on Monday after Turkey agreed to remove one of the last major roadblocks in return for help in reviving Turkey’s own chances of joining the European Union.At talks in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, where U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts are meeting for a two-day summit starting on Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan committed to put the Nordic country’s accession protocol before Parliament “as soon as possible,” the head of NATO said. “This is an historic day because we have a clear commitment by Turkey to submit the ratification documents to the Grand National Assembly, and to work also with the assembly to ensure ratification,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters after a series of high-stakes meetings.Sweden’s NATO accession has been held up by obje...

2023 MLB draft, Day 2 tracker: Orioles continue run on college players, select five more pitchers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:12:51 GMT

After drafting Vanderbilt outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. in the first round of the MLB draft Sunday night, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias detailed the confidence he has in the organization’s scouting of college players.“We pour a ton of data analysis resources into college statistics and college data,” Elias said, “so anytime we can take an elite college player, we feel good about the work that’s gone into that.”But Bradfield was just the beginning of the Orioles’ run on college players. Each of Baltimore’s first 10 selections were college players, including North Carolina outfielder-third baseman Mac Horvath and Florida State right-hander Jackson Baumeister on Day 1 and seven more on Day 2.Baumeister’s selection was somewhat of a surprise considering the Elias regime’s preference to pick position players early in drafts. At No. 63 overall, Baumeister became the first pitcher Baltimore has...

Dig begins for the remains of dozens of children at a long-closed Native American boarding school

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:12:51 GMT

By TRISHA AHMED and CHARLIE NEIBERGALL (Associated Press)GENOA, Neb. (AP) — In a remote patch of a long-closed Native American boarding school, near a canal and some railroad tracks, Nebraska’s state archeologist and two teammates filled buckets with dirt and sifted through it as if they were searching for gold.They’re trying to find the bodies of dozens of children who died at the school and have been lost for decades, a mystery that archeologists aim to unravel as they dig feet deep and meters wide in a central Nebraska field that was part of the sprawling campus a century ago.People toting shovels, trowels and even smaller tools are searching the unmarked site where ground-penetrating radar suggested a possible location for the cemetery of the Genoa Indian Industrial School. Genoa was part of a national system of more than 400 Native American boarding schools that attempted to assimilate Indigenous people into white culture by separating children from their fami...

Downtown effort: Wu launches office-to-residential conversion program

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:12:51 GMT

The city is looking to solve at least some of the region’s housing crunch by converting empty downtown office space into residential units.Mayor Michelle Wu’s office office on Monday announced the initiative that will offer tax breaks of up to 75% to building owners who jump on the chance to convert.“We must take every possible action to create more housing and more affordability so that Boston’s growth meets the needs of current and future residents,” said Wu in a release announcing the push. “This program will help us take advantage of the opportunity we have to rethink Downtown as a space where people from all over come together to collaborate, create, live, and play.”Post-pandemic vacancies are running about 20%, according to a study released last fall and cited in Monday’s announcement.The tax discount is intended to offset the high cost associated with converting office space, which is designed and engineered differently, to residential uses.According to a study conducte...

Bruins avoid arbitration with Ian Mitchell, sign defenseman to one-year deal

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:12:51 GMT

The Bruins settled one outstanding arbitration before it went to a hearing. They have two more to go.The B’s inked recently acquired defenseman Ian Mitchell, obtained in the Taylor Hall trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, to a one-year deal worth $775,000. The 24-year-old had an NHL salary of $1.05 million last season, but played only 35 games in Chicago. As it appears now, the right-shot Mitchell will be in direct competition for playing time with veteran Kevin Shattenkirk, who was signed as a free agent on July 1.The B’s have just under $5.5 million in salary cap space according to puckpedia.com, with two more outstanding arbitration cases that promise to chew up significantly more cap space than Mitchell’s deal. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman’s last deal carried an average annual value of $1.05 million and Trent Frederic just finished a deal with $1.137.5 million AAV.Both players should get decent raises. Frederic is coming off a 17-goal season while Swayman, af...

Shooting at apartment complex wounds 1

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:12:51 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Officers arrested a 25-year-old suspect Monday after a shooting in El Cajon left one person wounded, police said.Shortly after 11 a.m., police received a call about multiple gunshots at an apartment complex in the 200 block of Van Houten, El Cajon police said in a news release. When officers arrived, they found one victim who had been shot in the leg. Paramedics took the victim to a hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Brothers found dead inside East County home Officers then found and arrested the suspect, 25-year-old Quinton Darensbourg, about one block away in the 200 block of El Cajon Boulevard.Police say the suspect and the victim knew each other and were in an argument before the shooting.

Pennsylvania police searching for escaped homicide suspect find possible campsites near jail

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:12:51 GMT

WARREN, Pa. (AP) — A homicide suspect who used bed sheets to escape from a northwestern Pennsylvania jail is likely still in the area and someone may be helping him to evade capture, police said after discovering possible campsites in nearby woods.Michael Burham, 34, fled the Warren County Prison late Thursday by climbing on exercise equipment, climbing through a window and down a rope fashioned from jail bedding, authorities said. Burham was being held on $1 million bail and was charged with kidnapping, burglary and other counts.“We have located small stockpiles or campsites in wooded areas in the general vicinity of Warren, and we believe that at least some of those may be associated with Burham,” Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police told reporters Sunday afternoon at Youngsville Fire Hall.Bivens said Monday that the stockpiles consisted of “supplies that would assist him with a prolonged stay in a wooded area.” He declined to be more specific but said investiga...

Sex charges dismissed against reality TV doctor and girlfriend

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:12:51 GMT

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A California judge has dismissed sex charges against a reality TV show doctor and his girlfriend who had been accused of drugging and raping women in a case that drew international attention.Court records show that charges of assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense were dismissed Friday against Dr. Grant Robicheaux, a surgeon who previously appeared on a Bravo TV show called “Online Dating Rituals of the American Male,” and girlfriend Cerissa Riley. The decision came after a preliminary hearing before Superior Court Judge Michael Leversen, who determined there was not sufficient evidence on the sex charges to proceed to trial, the Orange County Register reported. The pair also faces drug charges and is due to appear in court July 19. Robicheaux is also charged with possession of an assault weapon. They previously pleaded not guilty.The state attorney general’s office, which has been prosecuting the case, said the agency is reviewing the ...