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Theater review: ‘My Fair Lady’ returns with energy to Ordway

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:05:56 GMT

When the pandemic brought everything to a halt in March 2020, the last theater production I’d experienced was Lincoln Center Theater’s “My Fair Lady.” It had just completed a week at Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre, and I found the show curiously low on energy and heart. Yes, it was beautifully designed and choreographed, but the cast lacked much in the way of palpable enthusiasm for the material.In hindsight, I contemplate whether the performers were distracted by trepidation, for COVID-19 was starting to claim victims in much of the country, including the company’s home base of New York City. Surely, there were more important things on their minds.So I attended opening night of the production’s Twin Cities return – this time at St. Paul’s Ordway Music Theater – optimistic that a new cast would relish the return to live performance, and run gleefully into the arms of a musical theater masterpiece.And I’m happy to report that is indeed the case. This “My Fair Lady” is a high-energy del...

Thomas Friedman: Everything, everywhere is going to change all at once

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:05:56 GMT

I had a most remarkable but unsettling experience last week. Craig Mundie, the former chief research and strategy officer for Microsoft, was giving me a demonstration of GPT-4, the most advanced version of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI and launched in November. Craig was preparing to brief the board of my wife’s museum, Planet Word, of which he is a member, about the effect ChatGPT will have on words, language and innovation.“You need to understand,” Craig warned me before he started his demo, “this is going to change everything about how we do everything. I think that it represents mankind’s greatest invention to date. It is qualitatively different — and it will be transformational.”Large language modules like ChatGPT will steadily increase in their capabilities, Craig added, and take us “toward a form of artificial general intelligence,” delivering efficiencies in operations, ideas, discoveries and insights “that have never been attainable before...

Cory Franklin and Robert Weinstein: The health of Americans is a big reason for our high COVID-19 death rate

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:05:56 GMT

For the past three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, and will continue to demonstrate in the future, that America is one of the unhealthiest countries in the industrialized world. Critics on the right and left harp on how the pandemic was handled, but in fact the dismal outcomes in the U.S. do not reflect management of the crisis so much as our underlying health as a country.With the caveat that the actual figures from China are unknown, in the past three years, the U.S. is the only country in the world that has suffered more than 1 million deaths from COVID-19. The U.S. death total exceeds that of every other country, except Brazil, by more than half a million. Even when normalized for population, the U.S. per-capita death rate is just outside the top 10 in the world and rising steadily.This is not the result of the policies of President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden. Nor does the explanation for the high number of U.S. deaths lie in an abnormally high case total...

Letters: Building enduring relationships is what matters

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:05:56 GMT

Building relationshipsMayor Melvin Carter signed a proclamation making March 18 Vic Rosenthal Day. Vic led the Minnesota Senior Federation for many years before deftly guiding Jewish Community Action as its longest-serving executive director before retiring in 2017. Even in retirement, though, Vic kept active, leading many diverse elder talking circles while serving on the City of St. Paul’s Reparations Legislative Advisory Committee.He would still be doing this important work. However Vic entered hospice care on March 17.Vic is one of those ordinary people who did extraordinary things in his life.At a time when the societal leaders who too frequently garner our attention are those making the loudest noises, Vic’s leadership style was decidedly different. He preferred making the necessary connections behind the scenes, while encouraging and mentoring everyday people into public leadership roles. Vic has always been most interested in working with society’s underdogs. He had a chip o...

St. Paul man sentenced for sexually assaulting 15-year-old girl on Green Line train

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:05:56 GMT

A St. Paul man has been sentenced to five years in prison for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl on a Green Line train.Brandon Trumanue Lindsey, 39, pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sexual conduct in August and was sentenced Monday by Ramsey County District Judge Kelly Olmstead.Brandon Trumanue Lindsey (Courtesy of the Ramsey County sheriff’s office)According to the criminal complaint, the girl boarded the train at the Rice Street stop at 8:35 p.m. Sept. 2, 2021, to ride to the Dinkytown area near the University of Minnesota. As she was getting on the train, a man later identified by police as Lindsey asked her to hold the door for him. He sat near her and offered her marijuana, which she declined. She told police she could smell alcohol on him.Lindsey then grabbed the back of her neck and forced her head into his lap, demanding she perform oral sex on him while he groped her, the complaint states. He got off the train. The girl continued to Dinkytown, told her sist...

FBI Albany to host recruiting event for women

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:05:56 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The FBI Albany Field Office is hosting a special recruiting event for women, next Tuesday, March 28. Special Agent in Charge, Janeen DiGuiseppi, said women play a crucial role in law enforcement—making victims and witnesses feel more comfortable. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "Women naturally want to help, and to support, and bring a different perspective that a male may not bring," explained DiGuiseppi. "It's more comforting and easier to speak to a female." The event on Tuesday is not just about recruiting. A panel of women will share what it's like to wear the badge, touching on that growing need for diversity. Colonie High School partners with FBI to combat ‘Sextortion’ "They're going to be able to demystify for women that you can have a family and be in law enforcement," continued DiGuiseppi. "There's a balance, and it can be done, and you can be successful as a law enforcement officer."In...

Remarkable Women: Lisa Mendel

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:05:56 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - From South Africa to the Capital Region, a local attorney has led a remarkable life, but it is her work to help those seeking asylum find safety that led to her nomination as a "Remarkable Woman.""Ever since I was very young I knew that I wanted to be involved with human rights issues," Lisa Mendel says, and as an immigration attorney, she finds herself advocating for refugees every day. "Not only have they been through so much, trauma torture, multiple family members being killed, people being kidnapped, horrific things, but then trying to navigate a system where it can be very dehumanizing and soul destroying for them and for the people fighting for them." Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! These are complex cases that can take years, but she is passionate about helping those hoping to find freedom because, "Ultimately because you are really fighting for someone's right to survive and not be sent back...

Man in custody for allegedly killing Troy, Missouri grandparents

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:05:56 GMT

TROY, Mo. – Police in Troy, Missouri, have taken a person of interest into custody Wednesday in connection with a double homicide. The bodies of a man and woman were located Tuesday evening, inside a mobile home near the intersection of Eames and East Cherry streets. According to a spokesperson for the Troy Police Department, family members contacted police to request a wellness check. Officers arrived at the home around 7:30 p.m. and discovered the couple dead. Top story: Missing St. Charles woman found dead; 1 man in custody Law enforcement identified the man and woman as Donald and Kathy McRoberts. Donald was 71 and Kathy was 58. Investigators have not disclosed how they died, but suspect they may have been dead inside the residence since earlier in the week.Some residents told investigators they heard gunshots on Tuesday or the day prior.The matter has been turned over to the Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for possible charges.FOX 2 is no longer identifying the p...

Busch Stadium installs pitch clocks for 2023 season; MLB slightly tweaks rules

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:05:56 GMT

ST. LOUIS - We're only eight days away from Opening Day! As the St. Louis Cardinals work to finalize their roster, Busch Stadium crews are also getting ready for the new season. Crews began installing two pitch clocks earlier this week at the ballpark, one on each side of home plate between the team dugouts. The new digital signs represent an era of a few new rule changes in Major League Baseball, with larger bases and shift bans also taking effect. Top story: Missing St. Charles woman found dead; 1 man in custody A pace-of-play adjustment for pitchers and hitters alike, MLB has adopted a pitch-clock system similar to that of the minor leagues. These are the new rules currently in effect:Pitchers are required to throw to hitters within 15 seconds if bases are empty, or 20 seconds if runners are on base.Hitters will only be allowed one timeout per plate appearance and must return to the box with eight seconds remaining on the clock. Otherwise, they run the risk of getting called f...

Five-Day IPA to benefit the Pujols Family Foundation

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:05:56 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- O'Fallon Brewery releases a commemorative edition of its Five-Day IPA. It is supporting the Albert Pujols Family Foundation.A portion of proceeds from all Five-Day package beer sales during the upcoming baseball season will benefit the non-profit. The Pujols Family Foundation promotes awareness and helps provide items for children and families who live with down syndrome.