Performers and opera lovers see 'The Central Park Five' as a show of resistance against Trump
DETROIT — As Detroit Opera officials made plans last fall to bring a production based on the Central Park Five to their 2025 lineup, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump loomed large and just off stage.
The opera puts to music the story of five Black and Latino teens imprisoned for the 1989 rape and beating of a white woman in New York's Central Park and prominently features Trump as a real estate showman calling for the death penalty in the case.
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Associated Press
3 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh leads MLB in homers and is on pace to set a season record for catchers
SEATTLE (AP) — Just before Big Dumper put a thump into a soaring flyball, a smattering of 'MVP! MVP!' chants broke out from behind home plate Sunday. Given the way Cal Raleigh's season has started, perhaps the Mariners' catcher is wholly deserving of such high praise. With a solo shot during Seattle's latest victory, a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins, Raleigh upped his total to a major league-leading 23 home runs. 'He's having an excellent season, not only offensively but also defensively,' teammate Randy Arozarena said, with bench coach Manny Acta translating. 'What he's doing right now, it's great because he's carrying our offense pretty much.' That's no exaggeration on Arozarena's part. And what Raleigh is doing is also unprecedented. The 28-year-old backstop from North Carolina with the funny nickname became the first catcher in major league history to reach 20 home runs before the end of May. His 22 home runs entering June tied for the second-most in Mariners history behind only Ken Griffey Jr., who had 24 in 1997. 'He just continues to grow and mature in this game,' said Mariners manager Dan Wilson, a former catcher who was on that Seattle team in 1997. 'And the pace that he's on right now with home runs — and he's not just hitting home runs, he's still just hitting the ball hard. 'You add that to what he does behind the plate in a game like this — whew, he's a real special player and he's doing it all right now.' According to Baseball Savant, Raleigh ranks eighth among big league catchers in Fielding Run Value. He also has more home runs than Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. So it's no wonder Raleigh has already been worth 3.3 Wins Above Replacement, per less than 60 games into the season for the AL West-leading Mariners. 'I just wish that he continues to stay healthy and (has) a very long career,' Seattle pitcher Luis Castillo said, with Acta translating. 'Because it's a lot of fun right now.' Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals holds the big league record for home runs in a season by a catcher with 48 in 2021. Raleigh is on pace for 64 this year, which would break the American League mark of 62 set by Judge in 2022. Sure, there's still a long way to go in 2025. But, awfully impressive for someone playing such a demanding and taxing position, where offense is often considered a luxury rather than a requirement. 'Sometimes it's not playing harder, it's playing smarter,' said Wilson, a major league catcher for 14 years. 'And he continues to play smart baseball whether it's behind the plate or at the bat. He's coming up huge for us all over the place.' ___ AP MLB:
Associated Press
3 minutes ago
- Associated Press
AP PHOTOS: 6 injured in a Colorado attack the FBI is investigating as terrorism
Six people were injured and some may have suffered burns Sunday in what the FBI immediately described as a 'targeted terror attack' at an outdoor mall in Boulder, Colorado, where a group had gathered to raise attention to Israeli hostages held in Gaza. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
New York Times
7 minutes ago
- New York Times
A Sunday Ritual Turns Into a Scene That ‘Looked Like a War Zone'
Every Sunday at 1 p.m. in Boulder, Colo., the walkers take their places. They have done so since a few weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. They begin at Pearl and Seventh Streets and walk toward the courthouse, along a pedestrian mall. Lisa Effress, 55, who has lived in Boulder for 17 years, has been there since the first walk. 'Whenever I'm in town,' she said, 'I try to be there.' The ritual is simple: walk, speak the names of those still held hostage, sometimes sing 'Hatikvah,' the Israel national anthem, and bear witness. The numbers vary — 20, sometimes 100. People see the group, hear the songs, and fall into step. They wear red. It's symbolic. It's visible. Ms. Effress wasn't walking this Sunday. She was across the street, having lunch with her daughter. But lunch got cut short. She heard sirens. Police cars, ambulances. She checked the time and figured the group must be near the courthouse. She left lunch and ran over. 'I knew immediately — I just knew,' she said. 'I ran across the street, looking for everyone.' What she found felt surreal. Smoke. Discarded clothes used to extinguish flames. People dazed, half-undressed. Bags and backpacks left behind in panic. And then, she saw a friend who was a Holocaust survivor, being helped into an ambulance. 'It looked like a war zone,' said Ms. Effress, a filmmaker and managing partner in a post-production company. 'It was horrible.' On every walk, Ms. Effress said, she is vigilant. Alert to strange behavior, to tension in the air. 'We are peaceful. We are not protesters,' she said. 'But there are always people protesting us.' She added: 'I have always taught my daughter: Be proud to be Jewish. Don't be afraid. But in a time like this, it is crazy to think we will ever be walking again. It's dangerous, it's not safe for us.' She said that according to a Whatsapp chat for the walking group, the weekly walk has been canceled indefinitely.
