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Mathews: VR took me to the world’s past — and to its future

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:14 GMT

I was more than a little startled when Konrad Adenauer approached me in the Old Market.Sure, I was visiting Cologne, Germany, Adenauer’s hometown. But I had never imagined I’d lay eyes on the German republic’s first post-war chancellor — much less get a wave from him.Not least because he died six years before I was born.But I had traveled back to 1926, when Adenauer was Cologne’s mayor, courtesy of TimeRide, a virtual reality tour.I’m not much for tourist attractions, which TimeRide — which also operates in Dresden, Munich, Berlin, and Frankfurt — most certainly is. But my colleagues at a Cologne-based democracy NGO suggested I try it. I’m glad I did.Because TimeRide suggests possibilities for remembrance of difficult pasts — and for how communities envision their democratic futures.The idea of using virtual reality to document horrors is not new. The state of Bavaria created a virtual reality version of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp to assist with the prosecution of Naz...

Brooks: Departing Utah Sen. Mitt Romney gives us a rare gift

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:14 GMT

Sometimes you do things that make you feel ashamed. It was the first day of the Republican convention in 2012, and I had nothing to write about, so I wrote a humor column mocking the Romney family for being perfect in every way. It was a hit with readers, but the afternoon it was published I crossed paths with two of Mitt Romney’s sons, and they looked at me with hurt in their eyes, which pierced me. I’d ridiculed people for the sin of being admirable.A few years later, before he was a senator, Romney asked me to come out to Utah to give a talk to a group he was convening. It’s a pain to write a speech and get on a plane, but I did it in penance for my sins. Of course, all the Romneys were lovely to me, as is their nature. And I learned a lesson: The partisans may applaud if you ridicule those you admire, of any political stripe, but stay faithful to them.We all struggle to be the best version of ourselves we can be, and Romney’s struggle is now taking him into retirement and out of...

Forecasters say Hurricane Lee weakens to post-tropical cyclone heading toward New England and eastern Canada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:14 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Forecasters say Hurricane Lee weakens to post-tropical cyclone heading toward New England and eastern Canada.Source

Lee es ahora un ciclón postropical con vientos huracanados que lleva lluvias a Nueva Inglaterra y el Atlántico canadiense

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:14 GMT

(CNN) — Lee, ahora un ciclón postropical, continúa con vientos huracanados, al tiempo que lleva lluvias a partes del sureste de Nueva Inglaterra y el Atlántico de Canadá, según una actualización del sábado a la mañana del Centro Nacional de Huracanes.“Se espera que Lee tenga la fuerza de un huracán o justo por debajo de ella cuando llegue a Nueva Escocia más tarde hoy. Se pronostica un debilitamiento esta noche y el domingo mientras Lee avanza a través del Atlántico canadiense”, dijo el Centro Nacional de Huracanes el sábado en su aviso de las 5 a.m. hora de Miami.Los impactos más significativos en EE.UU. son la posibilidad de algunas inundaciones costeras y vientos con fuerza de tormenta tropical en la costa de Nueva Inglaterra, en particular Maine, donde se ha declarado un estado de emergencia. En las costas meridionales de las provincias canadienses de Nuevo Brunswick y Nueva Escocia hay alerta de huracán.A pesar de estar a cientos de kilómetros de la costa este de EE.UU., ...

Struggling Lyon hires former Italy defender Fabio Grosso as new coach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:14 GMT

LYON, France (AP) — Struggling French club Lyon hired former Italy defender Fabio Grosso as its new coach on Saturday.Grosso replaces Laurent Blanc, who left by mutual consent following a terrible start to the season. Lyon is in last place with only one point from four games.Lyon said that the 45-year-old Grosso has a contract until the end of the season, with the option for an extra season. He will watch the home game against promoted Le Havre on Sunday night and take charge of the team on Monday. Deputy coach Jean-Francois Vulliez will oversee the Le Havre game.Grosso won the World Cup with Italy as an attack-minded left back in 2006. He played 75 games for Lyon from 2007-2009, helping the club win the league and French Cup double in 2008 in an era when it dominated French soccer.Last season, Grosso showed his coaching credentials when he guided Italian club Frosinone to the second-tier Serie B title.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerSource

Millions under storm watches as Lee is downgraded and passes by New England and Canada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:14 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The National Hurricane Center downgraded Hurricane Lee to a post-tropical cyclone but millions of people remained under storm watches and warnings early Saturday as the storm still could produce hurricane-force winds, torrential rain and coastal flooding.Severe conditions were predicted as a possibility across portions of Massachusetts and Maine and hurricane conditions could hit the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where the storm had been predicted to make landfall later Saturday.The storm was located about 230 miles (365 kilometers) southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and about 220 miles (355 kilometers) southeast of Eastport, Maine on Saturday morning.There were more than 11,000 power outages from Massachusetts to Maine early Saturday. The wind had picked up and rain moved into eastern Massachusetts.The hurricane center predicted hurricane-force winds extending more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) from Lee’s center with lesser but still ...

Lee Pulls Away

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:14 GMT

Gusty coastal winds and some rain across eastern Mass has been the story this morning, but fortunately, the worst of the storm passed just offshore. Gusts pushed 45-60mph across the Cape and Islands with a few localized higher gusts, but coastal flooding overnight was minimal, and the coastal flooding we expect for the midday high tide will generally be minor. Northwesterly winds gradual diminishing through the day as light to moderate rain showers lingers into the midday hours, before drying out this afternoon from west to east. This evening looks good for those dinner/date plans. We were very fortunate that the storm stayed far enough offshore to keep the heaviest rains offshore. If the track was 100-150miles farther west, we’d be taking 5-8″ of rain and frequently gusts over 70mph at the coast as well as much of significant coastal erosion and flooding. Seas are stirred up big time all day long with big breaking waves at the coast. If you’re wave watching later ...

High winds pick up surf at low tide after waves splashed Scituate overnight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:14 GMT

High winds in Scituate blew surf off the ocean, resulting in a minor soaking for the coastal town.As winds hit their strongest Saturday morning, the ocean was at low tide, which was helping to keep the surf from splashing on beach homes.Winds hit around 20 mph in the area, and waves were rolling in, buffed by the gusty winds. High tide hits again around 1 p.m., and while some splashover is expected, residents should be safe from the waves.

Republican presidential candidates mostly overlook New Hampshire in an effort to blunt Trump in Iowa

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:14 GMT

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Once upon a time, the moderates, the mavericks and the underdogs in presidential politics had a chance to break through in New Hampshire.Former Sen. John McCain, an independent-minded Republican, resurrected his anemic campaign with a victory in the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary in 2008. Bill Clinton, a centrist Democrat from Arkansas, became the “comeback kid” by exceeding expectations here in 1992. And little-known Georgia peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter, would go on to claim the presidency after winning the state’s 1976 Democratic primary.But this year, New Hampshire’s primary tradition may be little more than a fairy tale as the presidential field largely overlooks the Granite State.Democratic officials, who have rallied behind President Joe Biden, have already decided to bypass New Hampshire in favor of South Carolina. And the crowded Republican field is focusing its money, time and attention on Iowa, betting big that the...

Storm Lee bears down on New England and Canada with hurricane-force winds, rain, dangerous surf

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:14 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Storm Lee hurtled across the Atlantic on Saturday, threatening millions of people in coastal New England and eastern Canada with hurricane-force winds, dangerous surf and torrential rains.Severe conditions were predicted across parts of Massachusetts and Maine, and hurricane conditions could hit the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where the storm, downgraded early Saturday from hurricane to post-tropical cyclone, was expected to make landfall later in the day.The storm’s center was about 185 miles (365 kilometers) southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and about 160 miles (355 kilometers) south-southeast of Eastport, Maine, at 8 a.m. EDT Saturday. It was moving north at a fast clip of 25 mph (41 kph), with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (129 kph).Hurricane watches were in effect for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, while a tropical storm warning stretched from Westport, Massachusetts, to Nova Scotia. States of emergency were declared fo...