
Massachusetts assisted-living blaze kills a musician, secretary, and veteran Army sharpshooter
The 100-unit assisted-living facility that burned Sunday night, killing nine people so far, opened in 1999. Some photos on its Facebook page show neat rooms but older-looking carpeting and furniture. Her granddaughter didn't like the assisted-living center, but 86-year-old Eleanor Willett wanted something that left her money to play the slots at a casino. She earned too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford a higher-priced assisted-living facility, Holly Mallowes told The Associated Press Tuesday.

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Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Texas A&M's collie mascot Reveille X has eye removed after glaucoma diagnosis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Reveille X, Texas A&M's border collie mascot, had her right eye surgically removed after veterinarians diagnosed her with glaucoma, the university's president said Wednesday. The collie — also known as the 'First Lady of Aggieland' — was diagnosed with glaucoma after experiencing discomfort and cloudiness in her right eye, President Mark A Welsh III said in a message on the school's website. The veterinary team removed the eye out of an abundance of caution after discovering signs of abnormal tissue, he said. 'I'm grateful to report that Miss Rev has come through the surgery successfully, has been discharged and is resting comfortably,' Welsh said. Texas A&M's Reveille mascot dates back to 1931, when a group of cadets found an injured dog and sneaked her on to campus. The dog barked when buglers played morning reveille, earning her the Reveille name. Reveille X took over as the latest iteration of the mascot in 2021. A souped-up golf cart known as 'Rev Force One' helps transport the collie across campus. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. Welsh said Reveille will take a brief hiatus from engagements as she recovers. 'According to her veterinary team, we can expect Miss Rev to be back to enjoying all her favorite activities — cruising on Rev Force One, attending classes, cheering on the Aggies and keeping our campus squirrels in line — this fall,' he said.


Toronto Star
8 hours ago
- Toronto Star
The US decision to leave UNESCO again puts a spotlight on what the agency does
PARIS (AP) — With the support of international partners and $115 million in funding, the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO recently helped rebuild the Iraqi city of Mosul after it was devastated by the Islamic State group. The restoration of the historic city's iconic Al-Nouri Mosque and Al-Hadba Minaret was just one of many programs run by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which is in the spotlight because the United States is leaving it once again.


Toronto Sun
11 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Science and local sleuthing identify a 250-year-old shipwreck on a Scottish island
Published Jul 23, 2025 • 3 minute read In this image provided by Wessex Archaeology, the Sanday Wreck is seen on the shores of Sanday on Orkney, Feb. 2024. Photo by Wessex Archaeology via AP / AP LONDON — When a schoolboy going for a run found the ribs of a wooden ship poking through the dunes of a remote Scottish beach, it sparked a hunt by archeologists, scientists and local historians to uncover its story. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Through a mix of high-tech science and community research, they have an answer. Researchers announced Wednesday that the vessel is very likely the Earl of Chatham, an 18th-century warship that saw action in the American War of Independence before a second life hunting whales in the Arctic — and then a stormy demise. 'I would regard it as a lucky ship, which is a strange thing to say about a ship that's wrecked,' said Ben Saunders, senior marine archeologist at Wessex Archaeology, a charity that helped community researchers conduct the investigation. 'I think if it had been found in many other places, it wouldn't necessarily have had that community drive, that desire to recover and study that material, and also the community spirit to do it,' Saunders said. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In this image provided by Wessex Archaeology, the Sanday Wreck timbers are seen before being placed in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre, on Orkney, Sept 23, 2024. Photo by Fionn McArthur/Wessex Archaeology via AP / AP The wreck was discovered in February 2024 after a storm swept away sand covering it on Sanday, one of the rugged Orkney Islands that lie off Scotland's northern tip. It excited interest on the island of 500 people, whose history is bound up with the sea and its dangers. Around 270 shipwrecks have been recorded around the 20-square-mile (50-square-kilometre) island since the 15th century. Local farmers used their tractors and trailers to haul the 12 tons of oak timbers off the beach, before local researchers set to work trying to identify it. 'That was really good fun, and it was such a good feeling about the community — everybody pulling together to get it back,' said Sylvia Thorne, one of the island's community researchers. 'Quite a few people are really getting interested in it and becoming experts.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Dendrochronology — the science of dating wood from tree rings — showed the timber came from southern England in the middle of the 18th century. That was one bit of luck, Saunders said, because it coincides with 'the point where British bureaucracy's really starting to kick off' and detailed records were being kept. 'And so we can then start to look at the archive evidence that we have for the wrecks in Orkney,' Saunders said. 'It becomes a process of elimination. 'You remove ones that are Northern European as opposed to British, you remove wrecks that are too small or operating out of the north of England and you really are down to two or three … and Earl of Chatham is the last one left.' Wars and whaling Further research found that before it was the Earl of Chatham, the ship was HMS Hind, a 24-gun Royal Navy frigate built in Chichester on England's south coast in 1749. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Its military career saw it play a part in the expansion — and contraction — of the British Empire. It helped Britain wrest control of Canada from France during the sieges of Louisbourg and Quebec in the 1750s, and in the 1770s served as a convoy escort during Britain's failed effort to hold onto its American colonies. Sold off by the navy in 1784 and renamed, the vessel became a whaling ship, hunting the huge mammals in the Arctic waters off Greenland. Whale oil was an essential fuel of the Industrial Revolution, used to lubricate machinery, soften fabric and light city streets. Saunders said that in 1787 there were 120 London-based whaling ships in the Greenland Sea, the Earl of Chatham among them. A year later, while heading out to the whaling ground, it was wrecked in bad weather off Sanday. All 56 crew members survived — more evidence, Saunders says, that this was a vessel blessed with luck. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The ship's timbers are being preserved in a freshwater tank at the Sanday Heritage Centre while plans are discussed to put it on permanent display. Saunders said that the project is a model of community involvement in archeology. 'The community have been so keen, have been so desirous to be involved and to find out things to learn, and they're so proud of it. It's down to them it was discovered, it's down to them it was recovered and it's been stabilized and been protected,' he said. For locals, it's a link to the island's maritime past — and future. Finding long-buried wrecks could become more common as climate change alters the wind patterns around Britain and reshapes the coastline. 'One of the biggest things I've got out of this project is realizing how much the past in Sanday is just constantly with you — either visible or just under the surface,' said Ruth Peace, another community researcher. Canada Sunshine Girls Olympics Columnists Sunshine Girls