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Sometimes It Takes a Push To Become Who You Really Are

How do we become who we are? It’s tough to say sometimes, but I’m convinced you can trace my path to Mrs. Zimmerman. My family and I had moved to the U.S. from Greece, then hopscotched around the country, and though we’d been in America for years, I was still an awkward girl with a funny name whose backyard occasionally contained grazing sheep awaiting their Easter Sunday fate. But one spring day at Jean Gordon Elementary School, my teacher, Mrs. Zimmerman, handed me a flier for an essay contest. The winner would join other Louisiana children in covering the Republican ...

Review: Dylan’s ‘The Complete Budokan 1978’ Box Set Is A Welcome Release, Flute And All

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press Bob Dylan with flute and saxophone isn’t for everyone. But that’s what you get with “The Complete Budokan 1978,” a deluxe box set presenting two live shows at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan Hall, from a tour that has been derided in some corners as “Dylan going Vegas.” The extravagantly packaged four-disc set expands upon the 1979 “Bob Dylan at Budokan” live record that caught Dylan in Japan on just the second week of his 1978 world tour that would run for 10 months. The tour started after the widely acclaimed Rolling Thunder guerilla ...

Review: Mitch Albom Spins Moving Holocaust Tale In ‘The Little Liar’

By ROB MERRILL Associated Press Mitch Albom’s books often capture the zeitgeist, but his new novel about the fate of Greek Jews during World War II packs a particular punch in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7. “The Little Liar” tells the story of four interconnected characters, three of them Jews living in Salonika, Greece, at the onset of Germany’s invasion, and the other a Third Reich devotee carrying out Hitler’s orders on the Mediterranean island. Nico Krispis is the title character and it’s his journey from a beautiful boy who has never told ...

Churches Have Unique Opportunity

At the end of October, NPR reposted a story that featured an interview with Sharon Riley, the pastor of Orlando, Fla.’s Agape Perfecting Praise and Worship Center. In response to Florida banning AP African American History and the state placing restrictions on how Black history is taught in public schools, Riley is providing master classes for her congregation, which consists of many families with school-aged children. Riley isn’t the only pastor who stepped in to fill this educational void. The Rev. Gaston E. Smith, senior pastor of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Miami, ...

Young Voters Spring (Contradictory) Political Surprises

What’s with young voters? It’s a question prompted by two surprising and perhaps contradictory developments that are out of line with conventional wisdom and prevailing expectations among political observers. One is the sharp difference in opinion between young voters and their elders on the Hamas atrocities against Israel. A post-Oct. 7 poll by Quinnipiac University showed respondents under 35 disapproving of Israel’s response to Hamas’ atrocities, 52% to 32%, while those over 35 approved by a wider margin. Young voters’ views are out of line with President Joe Biden’s ...

‘The Marvels’ Melts Down At Box Office With $47M

NEW YORK (AP) — Since 2008’s “Iron Man,” the Marvel machine has been one of the most unstoppable forces in box-office history. Now, though, that aura of invincibility is showing signs of wear and tear. The superhero factory hit a new low with the weekend launch of “The Marvels,” which opened with just $47 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The 33rd installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a sequel to the 2019 Brie Larson-led “Captain Marvel,” managed less than a third of the $153.4 million its predecessor launched with before ultimately taking in $1.13 ...