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Menu signed by Mao Zedong brings a quarter million dollars at auction

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:26:18 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — An official menu for a state banquet that bears the signature of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong has been auctioned for $275,000. Boston-based RR Auction said the menu auctioned Wednesday was for a banquet held in Beijing on October 19, 1956, and commemorated the first state visit to China by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.The menu was signed in fountain pen by six influential Chinese statesmen, including Mao and Premier Zhou Enlai. The banquet featured foods from both nations and included delicacies such as “Consommé of Swallow Nest and White Agaric,” “Shark’s Fin in Brown Sauce,” and “Roast Peking Duck.”“To hold a menu signed by Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai is to hold a piece of the past – a piece that tells a story of diplomatic engagement, cultural exchange, and the forging of friendships that have endured through the decades,” Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction, said in a statement.Other items auctioned off included a...

Families press for inspector general investigation of Army reservist who killed 18

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:26:18 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A survivor and family members of those killed in the deadliest mass shooting in Maine history went to Capitol Hill on Thursday to press for an inspector general to obtain answers from the Army about the mental health and hospitalization of a reservist who opened fire.While representing varied political views, the families are united in seeking changes to ensure that what happened on Oct. 25 in Lewiston, Maine, doesn’t happen again somewhere else.“This has to stop. We think we can stop it right here,” Leroy Walker, father of one of the victims, Joe Walker, told reporters in Washington. He was joined by his daughter-in-law, Tracey Walker, now a widow.The group met privately with each member of Maine’s congressional delegation and, later, the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Two members also attended a vigil for gun violence victims at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church that included those affected by other mass shootings.All told, 18 people were killed an...

Mexico City rattled by moderate 5.8 magnitude earthquake

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:26:18 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico City residents were rattled by a moderate 5.8 magnitude earthquake that struck to the south of the capital Thursday. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake occurred at about 2:03 p.m. local time at a spot near Chiautla de Tapia, a rural village about 125 miles (200 kilometers) south of Mexico City in Puebla state.The head of the federal civil defense agency said there were no immediate reports of damage anywhere around Chiautla. Acting Mexico City Mayor Martí Batres said there were no immediate reports of any damage or injuries in the capital. The tremor set off the Mexico City earthquake alarm system and people left apartment and office buildings in neighborhoods across the city. Groups of office workers gathered on sidewalks along the city’s downtown Reforma boulevard.The Associated Press

Martin Scorsese will receive David O. Selznick Award from Producers Guild

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:26:18 GMT

Martin Scorsese will be honored with the prestigious David O. Selznick Achievement Award in February, the Producers Guild of America said Thursday. “Marty’s trailblazing career as a producer, marked by decades of bold, breakthrough projects, demands to be celebrated,” said PGA Presidents Donald De Line and Stephanie Allain in a joint statement. “His mastery and unwavering commitment to the craft are truly unparalleled.”A three-time PGA Award nominee with six decades of producing credits, Scorsese recalled the first time he was honored by the guild.“In March 1965, I was flown out to Los Angeles by the PGA to receive an award for my student film ‘It’s Not Just You, Murray!’ I was 22 at the time. At the same event, a much older filmmaker was also being honored. His name was Alfred Hitchcock,” Scorsese said in a statement. “58 years later, I’m proud to say that I am now the much older filmmaker. And I’m touched and extremely honored to be receiving an award named after a true legend amo...

Ospreys had safety issues long before they were grounded. A look at the aircraft’s history

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:26:18 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — When the U.S. military took the extraordinary step of grounding its entire fleet of V-22 Ospreys this week, it wasn’t reacting just to the recent deadly crash of the aircraft off the coast of Japan. The aircraft has had a long list of problems in its short history.The Osprey takes off and lands like a helicopter but can tilt its propellers horizontally to fly like an airplane. That unique and complex design has allowed the Osprey to speed troops to the battlefield. The U.S. Marine Corps, which operates the vast majority of the Ospreys in service, calls it a “game-changing assault support platform.” But on Wednesday, the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps grounded all Ospreys after a preliminary investigation of last week’s crash indicated that a materiel failure — that something went wrong with the aircraft — and not a mistake by the crew led to the deaths. And it’s not the first time. There have been persistent questions about a mechanical problem with t...

Ex-Philadelphia labor leader convicted of embezzling from union to pay for home renovations, meals

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:26:18 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Former Philadelphia labor leader John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty and a codefendant were convicted Thursday of using more than $650,000 in union funds for personal use, marking the second conviction federal prosecutors have secured against the long-powerful figure since a sweeping 2019 indictment.Dougherty, who led Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for nearly three decades, was convicted of conspiracy, embezzlement and dozens of other charges by a jury after a monthlong trial. Prosecutors said he and codefendant Brian Burrows, Local 98′s former president, used the money for items including home renovations, concerts, groceries and even a cookie tray for the christening of a relative’s baby.“This was a case where all the members who paid these people’s salaries basically had their pockets picked by them, and we’re glad we can finally hold them accountable,” U.S. Attorney Frank Costell was quoted as saying by The Philadelphia Inquirer...

Jonathan Majors’ accuser pressed about partying at Manhattan nightclub after alleged assault

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:26:18 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — An attorney for Jonathan Majors presented grainy security footage from a Manhattan nightclub in efforts to cast doubt on the accuser’s claim she suffered “excruciating” pain and injuries following an alleged assault by the actor last spring.The video compilation, played to a jury over several hours during the fourth day of trial on Thursday, showed accuser Grace Jabbari partying with a group of strangers she met on a street corner immediately after the confrontation with Majors in the backseat of a car.Jabbari, a 30-year-old British choreographer, has accused Majors of striking her on the side of the head and squeezing her hand until her middle finger fractured amid a dispute that began after she read a romantic text on his phone sent by another woman. The charges have derailed Majors’ budding Hollywood career, lending unusual stakes to a misdemeanor trial as the actor aims to salvage his reputation and future parts – including a now uncertain role as the...

No reelection campaign for Democratic representative after North Carolina GOP redrew U.S. House map

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:26:18 GMT

A second-term Democratic congresswoman will not seek reelection to the U.S. House under the North Carolina General Assembly’s new redistricting maps.U.S. Rep. Kathy Manning announced Thursday that she will not file under lines that state election data suggests could net Republicans at least three more seats. Manning’s district is now considered a GOP-leaning district. It’s one of four challenged earlier this week by Black and Latino voters in a federal lawsuit alleging the new map weakens minority voting power to strengthen “the state’s white majority.”“Unfortunately, the egregiously gerrymandered maps do not make this race competitive,” Manning said in a statement. “I cannot in good conscience ask people to invest their time, resources and efforts in a campaign that is rigged against us.”If the lawsuit successfully overturns the latest iteration, Manning said she will run. The candidate filing period ends Dec. 15 for a spot on the March 5 primary...

Manon Jeannotte from First Nation in Gaspé appointed Quebec lieutenant-governor

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:26:18 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has appointed Manon Jeannotte as the new lieutenant-governor of Quebec.Trudeau’s office said in a news release that Jeannotte is originally from the First Nation of Gespeg, a Mi’kmaq community on the province’s Gaspé Peninsula.Before her appointment, she was director of First Nations executive education at the HEC Montréal business school.She previously spent 12 years serving in elected leadership roles in her community, first as a councillor and then as chief.A graduate of the McGill-HEC Montréal executive MBA program, she has also been recognized for her contributions to commemorating Indigenous history in Quebec. Jeannotte will replace J. Michel Doyon as the King’s representative in the province. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2023. The Canadian Press

Von Miller declines to comment on domestic assault allegations after returning to Bills practice

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:26:18 GMT

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills edge rusher Von Miller declined to take questions at his locker on Thursday, a week after turning himself in to police in a Dallas suburb after allegedly assaulting the mother of his children, who is pregnant.Miller simply shook his head no and said “not today” when approached by reporters in the first instance he’s made himself available since being charged in a warrant for domestic violence.Miller returned to practice after having a previously scheduled veteran rest day on Wednesday, which marked the Bills’ first session since returning from their bye week off. General manager Brandon Beane on Wednesday said the Bills are letting the legal process play out in allowing Miller to practice and continue playing.Miller is expected to suit up on Sunday, when Buffalo (6-6) travels to face the Kansas City Chiefs (8-4).The 34-year-old Miller faces a charge of third-degree felony assault of a pregnant woman, which is punishable by 2 to 10 years ...