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Shinkai sticking to what he knows best: Japan, youth, anime

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:10:33 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Makoto Shinkai doesn’t yet know the story he will tell in his next film, only that it will be about what he knows best. For one, it will be set in Japan, filled with those breathtakingly gorgeous landscapes he draws on his animation storyboards.If he were to set his film outside Japan, he would have to live in that city for at least several months.The narrative will almost certainly star a young hero or heroine, or both, with hearts of gold, who fearlessly embark on their coming-of-age journeys.All his recent films have those characteristics. It’s all he knows, Shinkai says, with a humble laugh.“I am not the kind of person with varied interests or many skills. I can only do one thing. I can only make my animation,” he told The Associated Press in a recent online interview from Los Angeles.He can’t even think of filmmakers or animators who have influenced him, except for being profoundly affected by Hayao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro,’’ when he saw it as a ...

Landmark law saved whales through marine industries change

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:10:33 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — On a breezy spring day, scientists and conservationists methodically conducted experiments near 15 North Atlantic right whales that occasionally spouted and surfaced in a bay south of Boston.The pod of adults and calves is about 4% of the worldwide population of a marine mammal that almost disappeared from the planet after many decades of commercial whaling. There now are only a few hundred of the behemoths, which can weigh 70 tons (63.5 metric tons) and subsist on small ocean organisms.Although right whale numbers are dwindling, conservationists attribute their continued survival to the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The landmark federal law — a half century old this year — has forced the fishing and commercial shipping industries to take important steps to help protect the critically endangered whales. And it’s spurred government agencies and scientists to undertake research.David Wiley, research ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini...

‘A reflection’: Stampede tarp auction an indicator of Alberta’s booming economy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:10:33 GMT

CALGARY — The amount of money that was flowing freely at the annual Calgary Stampede canvas auction Thursday night was just the sort of gusher that Alberta’s oil and gas industry likes to see.The event is typically considered a bellwether for Alberta’s energy industry, as many sponsors that pay to have their company names on chuckwagons competing in the festival’s rodeo are players in the energy sector. The province has traditionally had a boom and bust economy tied to the price of oil. With the price of West Texas Crude around $82 a barrel the sector is definitely in a boom position right now.Last year with the sport returning after the COVID-19 pandemic the 27 rigs taking part in the event raised $2.1 million or roughly $77,800 per bid.This year the total hit $2.75 million dollars or about $102,000 for each chuckwagon team.“We’re delighted that there were a few competitive bids which drove some numbers up and it’s about the families and what the...

China sanctions US Congress member for Taiwan visit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:10:33 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China sanctioned a United States lawmaker Thursday for his visit to Taiwan, saying he violated the “One China” principle that says Beijing has sovereignty over the island.The mainland’s ruling Communist Party says Taiwan, which split from the mainland in 1949 amid a civil war, must be reunited with China by force if necessary. Beijing says Taipei has no right to conduct foreign relations and views visits by U.S. lawmakers to the island as violating its claims of sovereignty. The sanctions against Rep. Michael McCaul include freezing his assets and properties in China, prohibiting any organization or individual in China from conducting transactions or working with him, and denying him a visa to enter the country, according to a statement Thursday from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.It’s one of several rounds of sanctions China announced as tensions build between Beijing and Washington.China retaliated for U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s meet...

‘Quiet luxury’: No flash, no logos, but big-time style

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:10:33 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — They’re the biggest of brands. But with no logos. And that’s the whole point. Call it stealth wealth, or quiet luxury. For the rich and those who aspire, logo-free fashion with outsized price tags is having a moment — at least among people who can spend in the face of higher inflation and a volatile economy. It’s a come-and-go trend that, while spiking in the pandemic’s wake, traces its roots as far back as the American industrialists of the 19th-century Gilded Age and France in the 1700s. And retailers are taking note, as are more designers looking to capture not only the rich but their wannabes, too. Think Hollywood nepo baby and Goop multimillionaire Gwyneth Paltrow and her head-to-toe Prada, luxurious cashmere sweaters and Celine boots during her week in a Utah courtroom in a dispute over a ski crash. She was a picture of neutral-toned designer duds, and those who know luxury easily spotted the brands behind her staid, logoless, very price...

India’s stretched health care fails millions in rural areas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:10:33 GMT

SURGUJA, India (AP) — Poonam Gond is learning to describe her pain by numbers.Zero means no pain and 10 is agony. Gond was at seven late last month. “I have never known zero pain,” she said, sitting in the plastic chair where she spends most of her days.The 19-year-old has sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder. Her medicine ran out weeks ago.Gond’s social worker, Geeta Aayam, nods as she bustles around Gond. She has the same disease — but, with better care, leads a very different life.Hundreds of millions of rural Indians struggle to access care for a simple reason: The country just doesn’t have enough medical facilities. India’s population has quadrupled since its independence in 1947, and an already fragile medical system has been stretched too thin: In the country’s vast countryside, health centers are rare, understaffed and sometimes run out of essential medicines. For hundreds of millions of people, basic health care means a daunting journey to a distant government-run ...

The Skilling Report: Rex Block Behind Chicago's Warmth; Cloudburst brings 'Biblical' Rain tallies to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:10:33 GMT

WARMTH IN CHICAGO TO LINGER INTO SATURDAY NIGHT--A "REX" BLOCKING PATTERN ALOFT IS BEHIND THE WARMTH'S EXTENDED STAY--GOOD CHANCE OF A 4-DAY STRING OF 80s--THE FIRST SUCH STRING IN 7 MONTHS--BUT LAKE COOLING ON SHORELINE FRIDAY COLD FRONT WHICH BREAKS THE WARMTH HITS WITH T-STORM SAT NIGHT--WINDY, COOLERSo how is it this summer-like warmth is sticking around into the weekend? That a pretty healthy stay for such an unseasonably warm air mass. In fact, it appears 80-degree and warmer highs, such as those which have occurred Wednesday and today (Thursday), will be followed by 80s again Friday and Saturday. The one exception will be along Lake Michigan where cooler air will make it onto the shoreline Friday--though the cool air isn't likely to penetrate very far far inland. The development of SOUTHEAST WINDS means the flow will swipe the beaches and shoreline locations with cooler air off LAKE MICHIGAN Friday. Lake water temps currently average 46.5-degrees sets which means quite a spre...

Manitou Foundation buys Zephyr Theatre property in Stillwater, houses displaced charter school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:10:33 GMT

River Grove Elementary School in Wilder Forest in May Township in northern Washington County has found a new home — thanks to a White Bear Lake-based foundation.School officials announced Thursday that they would be moving temporarily into the Zephyr Theatre property in downtown Stillwater. On Wednesday, officials from the Manitou Fund said the foundation had entered into a purchase agreement for the property at 601 N. Main St.“We’re extremely excited about this opportunity and are incredibly thankful to Manitou Fund for providing us a unique space in such an amazing location,” said Drew Goodson, the charter school’s executive director. “We look forward to continuing the implementation of our innovative, place-based curriculum along the St. Croix River.”The move, part of an ongoing collaborative partnership with the Manitou Fund, will provide an interim home for the school as it “continues to develop long-term plans to create a forest-based campus and learning center,” G...

Police investigate shooting on MetroLink train

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:10:33 GMT

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - Police are investigating a shooting on a MetroLink train traveling through Illinois on Thursday night.The shooting occurred around 9 p.m. A spokesperson for Bi-State Development, which runs Metro services, said an altercation happened between individuals on an eastbound MetroLink train near the 5th and Missouri station.Shots were fired, and a bullet almost hit a passenger on the train. However, no one was injured.The St. Clair County Sheriff's Office is handling the investigation.The spokesperson for Bi-State said no trains are running between Busch Stadium and Emerson Park. They encouraged riders to use the buses between the stations.This is a developing story. FOX 2 will give updates as more information becomes available.

Avalanche prepare for postseason run without captain Gabriel Landeskog: “It sucks, he’s our leader”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:10:33 GMT

With each passing game, week and month over the regular season, Bo Byram figured his captain’s knee injury must be more serious than anybody initially thought.Nathan MacKinnon knew he’d play the rest of the year without Gabriel Landeskog a month ago.Coach Jared Bednar said the news wasn’t final until today, when the club announced the man who wears the “C” on his chest would miss Colorado’s postseason run in addition to the entire regular season due to an injury that dates to September 2020, but allowed that conversations have been ongoing for several weeks.The postseason is a 24-hour trip to Nashville away, and Landeskog won’t be lacing up the skates. It may not be a shocking outcome at this point, but it’s a difficult one for Colorado nonetheless.“It sucks, he’s our leader,” Byram, the 21-year-old defenseman, said after Colorado finished off a lackadaisical yet important 4-2 win over Winnipeg on Thursday night. “A lot of guys have done a good job of stepping up in this dress...