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‘Phantom of the Opera’ superfans say goodbye to Broadway’s longest-running show

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

(CNN) — “Phantom of the Opera” isn’t just a Broadway icon — it’s a cultural behemoth.There’s Andrew Lloyd Webber’s organ-heavy score, sumptuous sets and elaborate costumes. There’s a melodramatic love triangle between the beautiful soprano, her hunky beau and a misunderstood sewer dweller, composer and voice teacher. Then there’s the chandelier, of course. There are few moments in musical theater more thrilling than the one before the massive light fixture roars back to life.After 35 years and nearly 14,000 performances, “Phantom of the Opera” takes its final bow Sunday on Broadway. Soon, posters advertising the show with nothing but the iconic Phantom mask and a single rose will be scrubbed from Times Square, and the Majestic Theater will sit empty for the first time since “Phantom” opened in 1988.News of its closure stunned musical theater fans — the longest-running show on Broadway always se...

Fighting between Sudan military rivals enters second day, with dozens dead

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

(CNN) — Fierce fighting across Sudan entered a second day as months of tensions between a paramilitary group and the country’s army erupted into violence.Clashes around the army headquarters and presidential palace in capital Khartoum involved heavy weapons. There have also been reports of battles hundreds of miles away in the eastern city of Port Sudan and in the western Darfur region.At least 56 people have been killed and nearly 600 injured in the clashes, according to the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors.“Since yesterday we have not been able to leave the hospital for our homes because the clashes are taking place near the hospital and armed men from the army are roaming inside the hospital with their weapons,” a female doctor in Khartoum told CNN.“We are in a real state of terror with the sound of explosions and bullets, we escaped death many times,” she added.Sudan’s paramilitary chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo claimed to have seized mos...

‘I witnessed people being murdered.’ How the Louisville bank shooting unfolded

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

(CNN) — About half an hour before opening for business, employees at the Old National Bank branch near the Ohio River in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, gathered for a morning board meeting.There was Thomas Elliott, the bank’s 63-year-old senior vice president; Deana Eckert, a 57-year-old executive administrative assistant; and Juliana Farmer, 45, who moved to Louisville two weeks ago to take a job as a loan officer and help her daughter, a single mom with four children.There was Joshua Barrick, 40, a senior vice president of commercial real estate banking. And James Tutt, a 64-year-old commercial real estate market executive and a big-time booster of the revitalization of the old urban neighborhood where they worked.Within a minute, the five bank employees would become casualties of a distinctly American phenomenon — the mass shooting.The Monday morning rampage by a member of their own work family was particularly personal for Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg: He n...

Firefighters rescue children from flood diversion tunnel in Auburn

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

Auburn fire crews rescued a group of children from a diversion tunnel on Sunday.Video showed the firefighters leading the children up a steep hill to safety.The flood diversion tunnel is located in a river near Curtis Road.No additional information was immediately available.https://twitter.com/auburnmassfire/status/1647703799220391936https://twitter.com/auburnmassfire/status/1647707423371673604https://twitter.com/auburnmassfire/status/1647717093809307648This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Hundreds of Golden Retrievers gather on Boston Common to honor memory of Spencer the marathon dog

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

Hundreds of Golden Retriever owners and their canine companions gathered for a “Golden Strong” meet-up on Boston Common on Sunday to honor Spencer the marathon dog and his niece Penny, both of whom died from canine cancer in February.Spencer’s family has raised more than $33,000 already for canine cancer research, and are working to put a Spencer statue along the marathon route. Spencer gained local fame for becoming a landmark on the Boston Marathon route in Ashland.Spencer’s owner, Richard Powers, said losing both of their beloved pets at the same time was extremely difficult.“I think we’re accomplishing his legacy and bringing awareness to canine cancer and how it effects the family members, it’s not just the dog it’s a family member,” he said.“It’s so heartwarming,” he added, “To see he touched millions of lives at this point.”

Crowd gathers in Boston for ’10 Years Stronger Benefit Concert’ featuring Zac Brown Band

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

A tribute concert commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings is being held at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston on Sunday to benefit those impacted by the terror attack.The Greg Hill Foundation is hosting the ’10 Years Stronger Benefit Concert’ featuring the Zac Brown Band and presented by Dunkin’.

Shooting at Alabama birthday party kills 4 people, wounds 28

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

By JEFF AMY and KIM CHANDLER (Associated Press)DADEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama law enforcement officers Sunday were imploring people to come forward with information about a shooting that killed four people and injured 28 others during a teenager’s birthday party.Among those killed was a high school senior who planned to play college football and was celebrating sister’s 16th birthday. The shooting erupted Saturday night at a dance studio in downtown Dadeville.During two news conferences Sunday, Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency did not take questions. He did not say if a suspect was in custody or if investigators knew about any motivation. He did not provide the names of those killed. “We’ve got to have information from the community,” Burkett said during a Sunday evening news conference.Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, a Dadeville High School senior who had committed to Jacksonville State University, was celebratin...

4 killed at birthday party shooting in Alabama

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

DADEVILLE, Ala. — A high school senior who planned to play college football was celebrating at his sister’s 16th birthday party Saturday night in Alabama when gunfire killed him and three other people and wounded several others.Police were gathering evidence Sunday at a dance studio where the party was held in downtown Dadeville. They did not immediately say if a suspect was in custody, or if they knew more about any motivation.Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, a Dadeville High School senior who had committed to Jacksonville State University, was celebrating at his sister Alexis’ party before he was shot to death, his grandmother Annette Allen told The Montgomery Advertiser.“He was a very, very humble child. Never messed with anybody. Always had a smile on his face,” Allen told the newspaper, calling it “a million-dollar smile.”Dowdell’s mother was among those hurt in the shooting.“Everybody’s grieving,” Allen said.S...

Feinstein needs to decide Senate future, Klobuchar says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

WASHINGTON — Dianne Feinstein, who has been absent from the U.S. Senate for weeks due to illness, needs to make a decision soon about her fate if she doesn’t recover enough to return for key votes in the closely divided chamber, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said.“We are going to need her vote on the Senate floor eventually,” Klobuchar said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” Specifically, the Minnesota Democrat cited the debt ceiling crisis.“If this goes on month after month after month, then she’s going to have to make a decision with her family and her friends about what her future holds because this isn’t just about California, it’s also about the nation,” she said.Feinstein, 89, who’s not seeking reelection in 2024, was hospitalized earlier this year with shingles, according to her office. Her absence has concerned fellow Democrats, including Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who called for her to resign and said it “is ob...

Gerrit Cole delivers complete game shutout as Yankees stuff Twins 2-0

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

The Yankees were able to split the series in a finale that was expected to be a pitching duel between Gerrit Cole and Pablo Lopez.But Cole (4-0) threw a complete game and outshined his counterpart, allowing just two hits, a walk and no runs in the Yankees’ 2-0 victory against the Twins. He didn’t allow a hit through 4.1 innings and struck out 10 batters, his 23rd double digit strikeout game as a Yankee, tying him with Ron Guidry for the franchise record.“I mean first of all I’m happy that we got the win,” Cole said about his performance. “And I mean it’s special, Ron’s such a good person and a great human being and a great Yankee so anytime you’re mentioned with him it’s pretty special.”The 32-year-old ace lowered his season’s ERA to 0.95 after throwing 109 pitches in what Aaron Boone called a “big-time performance.”“He’s just handling situation after situation so well but I think his fas...