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From relegation battlers to high flyers: Brest fighting for European spots in French league

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:44:16 GMT

BREST, France (AP) — Since coming back from two goals down to stun last season’s runner-up Lens on the opening day of the season, Brest has continued to take the French league by surprise.The result? With one match left to play before the year-end break, the small club from the Brittany region dreams about Europe.After 16 rounds of matches, Brest boasts its best record ever at this stage of the French league season, with eight wins, four draws and only four defeats for a total of 28 points. That’s just nine points fewer than leader Paris Saint-Germain and its armada of stars. And four points fewer than second-place Nice ahead of Brest’s game against local rival Lorient on Wednesday.For its final league game of the year, PSG hosts Metz. Nice plays Lens and third-place Monaco travels to Toulouse.Not many experts could have imagined such an ascending trajectory for Brest when the struggling side appointed Eric Roy as its coach in January, with hopes that the 55-year-old wou...

Denver weather: Nearing record highs on Tuesday

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:44:16 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Even with a mix of sun, clouds and a light breeze, highs along the Front Range will climb into the middle to upper 60s on Tuesday in the Denver weather forecast.Weather today: Warm with sun, cloudsThe Front Range and Eastern Plains will see a mix of sun and clouds on Tuesday with extra clouds over the higher elevations. 5 gray wolves released into Colorado Highs will be near Denver's record 67 degrees with highs in the middle to upper 60s. Winds can be brisk during the afternoon.Pinpoint Weather: Daily forecast on Dec. 19 Weather tonight: Partly cloudyExtra clouds linger Tuesday night, giving Denver partly cloudy skies. But, the mountains will see cloudy skies. Overnight lows are also mild, only dipping to the freezing mark.Pinpoint Weather: Overnight forecast on Dec. 19 Looking ahead: Mild until Christmas Eve snowThe mild weather will continue through the end of the workweek. Wednesday will feel comfortable with highs in the upper 50s with partly cloudy skies. ...

This very ’80s evening gown worn by Princess Diana just set an auction record

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:44:16 GMT

(CNN) — A dress first worn by Princess Diana in 1985 has sold for a record $1.148 million at auction, 11 times its estimate.The blue and black dress, designed by Moroccan-British fashion designer Jacques Azagury, is now the most expensive dress worn by the princess to be sold at auction, smashing the previous record of $604,800, Los Angeles auction house Julien’s Auctions said in a statement.Diana wore the dress, which features a black velvet bodice embroidered with stars, in the Italian city of Florence in April 1985, and in Vancouver, Canada in May 1986.The dress was sold along with a matching illustration as part of Julien’s “Hollywood Legends” auction, which ended Sunday.The sale also featured a blush-pink chiffon blouse worn by Diana in her engagement portrait in 1981. It sold for $381,000, almost four times its estimate.Earlier this year, a quirky wool sweater adorned with sheep set a record both for the most expensive sweater ever sold at au...

England’s schools told to inform parents if kids want to change gender identity

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:44:16 GMT

LONDON — Schools in England will be expected to inform parents if their kids want to change their gender identity, under new guidance issued by the British government Tuesday.Under the draft plan, which comes amid heated debate about gender in the governing Conservative Party and calls from schools for more support, teachers will not be forced to automatically tell parents if their kids raise “general” questions about their gender identity at school.But they will be expected to inform parents if kids want to take more concrete steps towards transitioning. There will be some exemptions in place where there are concerns about a child’s safety at home.The guidance notably stops short of a total ban on social transitioning — which can include changes to someone’s name, pronouns and appearance — in schools, as some in the Tory Party had been calling for.Instead, the government says schools must take a “cautious approach” to such requests and are not under a “general duty” to comply...

Volcano erupts on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula weeks after town evacuated

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:44:16 GMT

(CNN) — A volcano has dramatically erupted in Iceland, expelling spectacular bursts of lava onto the landscape and emitting huge plumes smoke into the sky after weeks of seismic activity prompted the evacuation of a nearby town.The eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula began at around 10 p.m. local time (5 p.m. ET), following an earthquake around an hour earlier, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said in a statement.The office reported that the eruption was located close to Hagafell, about 3 kilometers (about 2 miles) north of the town of Grindavík.Iceland’s Coast Guard posted a video on Facebook showing one of its helicopters at the scene on Monday night, hovering over a long line of glowing lava spurting from the fissure in the ground. The air is shrouded by smoke and lit in glowing hues of orange and red.The fissure had formed underground last month, stretching 15 kilometers long, with magma entering into a crack beneath the surface, according to Rikke Pedersen, a scientist ...

Dana Farber Cancer Institute masking up once again

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:44:16 GMT

Patients and staff at Dana Farber Cancer Institute will be wearing masks again for the foreseeable future.The hospital said they will require everyone to wear face coverings due to the current high rates of respirator illnesses.Officials said they will lift the mask requirement when the number of infections is lower.According to the latest data from the state’s Department of Public Health, more than 15 percent of emergency room visits in Massachusetts over the past week were due to respiratory illnesses including COVID-19, the flu, and RSV.These illnesses also accounted for more than 17 percent of all hospital admissions.

Salvation Army hosting annual gift distribution

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:44:16 GMT

The Salvation Army’s annual Christmas Castle distribution started Monday, providing 5,000 Boston families with a little help this holiday season.Starting on Monday and running through Wednesday, 5,000 registered families in need can pick up holiday items at no cost.“We’re helping familes to create memories and lasting imporessions for their children,” said Jeffrey Bailey of the Salvation Army. “We’re passing out toys and we’re passing out food cards for families who need a little bit of extra help to get them over the hump – that’s what we’re here for.”The program is designe dfor families with children 14 years of age and younger who are struggling tomake ends meet so they don’t have to choose between groceries and gifts.“Every little bit helps just to make sure the families and your kids are having a good Christmas,” said Glenda Ramos.Gift distribution takes place at the Salvation Army’s Ray a...

Crews responding to damaged fire hydrant in Brighton

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:44:16 GMT

Crews were on the scene of a damaged fire hydrant on Arlington Street in Brighton Tuesday morning.Officials from the Boston Water and Sewer Commission said they do not believe it to be a water main break, but that the hydrant possibly “walked off”, a term used when the hydrant has come separated from the pipe that feeds it, because often movement is involved.Water and debris could be seen strewn across the road. https://twitter.com/BOSTON_WATER/status/1737082844596293830

Workers sort gifts at Toys For Tots distribution center

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:44:16 GMT

True or false: Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields’ inability to close will accelerate his exit from Chicago

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:44:16 GMT

The Chicago Bears couldn’t believe it. Any of it. The Bears couldn’t fathom that they let a 10-point fourth-quarter lead get away, couldn’t comprehend that they kicked away a day-saving miracle on the game’s final play, couldn’t quite process that Sunday’s devastating 20-17 road loss to the Cleveland Browns torpedoed their energized chase of a playoff berth. Instead, they were left with another gut-wrenching disappointment to accept and another emotionally testing regrouping mission for Week 16.On Christmas Eve, the Bears will play the hapless Arizona Cardinals at Soldier Field with every opportunity to get back on the winning track. But the sting of Sunday’s loss is going to leave a mark and could create some unwanted resignation as well. The coming week will challenge the Bears’ focus, unity and emotional stability.As Tribune writers Colleen Kane and Dan Wiederer get their arms around it all, they engage in a “true or falseR...