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Jun 01, 2023

Review: Is the heroine of 'Family Lore' predicting her own death, or does she just want a party?

FICTION: A funny, poignant novel focuses on a Dominican American woman holding an unusual get-together. "Family Lore" by Elizabeth Acevedo; Ecco (384 pages, $30) Javascript is required for you to be

FICTION: A funny, poignant novel focuses on a Dominican American woman holding an unusual get-together.

"Family Lore" by Elizabeth Acevedo; Ecco (384 pages, $30)

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Copyright 2023 Tribune Content Agency.

Top-seeded Jessica Pegula has reached the DC Open semifinals by coming back to edge Elina Svitolina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 across more than two hours. Pegula saved six break points in the third set Friday. Five came at 3-2, and the last while she was serving out the victory in the final game. Svitolina returned to the tour in April after having a baby in October. She was coming off a semifinal run last month at Wimbledon, where she eliminated No. 1 Iga Swiatek. Pegula is a 29-year-old American who won the hard-court tournament in the nation’s capital in 2019. She is a six-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist and will face Maria Sakkari or Madison Keys next.

LOS ANGELES -- Bianka Bryant wasn't alive at the time her father joined Taylor Swift onstage during an L.A. concert.

Matt Ryan brought the No. 2 jersey back to the Atlanta Falcons' training camp. This time, however, the jerseys were worn by Ryan’s 5-year-old twins, Johnny and Thomas. Ryan, the most accomplished quarterback in Falcons history, returned as a sideline spectator, perhaps gathering notes for his new career as a TV analyst. Ryan played 14 seasons with Atlanta from 2008 through 2021 before he was granted his trade request and spent the 2022 season with Indianapolis. Ryan joined CBS as an analyst in May. He did not retire as a player but is not with a team in training camp.

Friday

Mark Margolis, the veteran actor and Philadelphia native best known for playing former drug kingpin Hector “Tio” Salamanca on "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul," had died. He was 83.

LOS ANGELES -- Bianka Bryant wasn't alive at the time her father joined Taylor Swift onstage during an L.A. concert.

Matt Ryan brought the No. 2 jersey back to the Atlanta Falcons' training camp. This time, however, the jerseys were worn by Ryan’s 5-year-old twins, Johnny and Thomas. Ryan, the most accomplished quarterback in Falcons history, returned as a sideline spectator, perhaps gathering notes for his new career as a TV analyst. Ryan played 14 seasons with Atlanta from 2008 through 2021 before he was granted his trade request and spent the 2022 season with Indianapolis. Ryan joined CBS as an analyst in May. He did not retire as a player but is not with a team in training camp.

Mark Margolis, the veteran actor and Philadelphia native best known for playing former drug kingpin Hector “Tio” Salamanca on "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul," had died. He was 83.

U.S. employers in struggling sectors such as manufacturing are reducing hours rather than resorting to aggressive job cuts, with flashbacks to recent labor shortages that challenged so many companies.

“Interest costs matter,” my friend tells me over lunch.

Actor Mark Margolis, who played murderous former drug kingpin Hector Salamanca in “Breaking Bad” “Better Call Saul,” has died at 83. The actor died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City following a short illness. Margolis was nominated for an Emmy in 2012 for “Breaking Bad,” as Salamanca, the elderly don of his drug clan. Much of his character’s backstory later played out on “Better Call Saul,” the prequel in which he guest-starred from 2016 to 2022. Margolis also was known for many film roles, particularly in the films of Darren Aronofsky: “Noah,” “Black Swan,” “The Wrestler” and “Pi.” He also played Alberto “The Shadow” in “Scarface.”

A Montana man shot and killed a black bear he encountered in his living room after waking up to the sound of a barking dog in the middle of the night. The confrontation with the large bruin happened in the rural community of Luther in the foothills of the Beartooth Mountains. Seeley Oblander says fiance Thomas Bolkcom went to investigate their dog barking in the living room about 3 a.m. Thursday and encountered the bear. He got a handgun and shot it several times. A state wildlife officials says the shooting was justified in self defense.

Yunus Musah is following United States teammate Christian Pulisic to American-owned AC Milan. Musah was born in New York but grew up in Italy and England. He signed a five-year contract with the Rossoneri following a transfer from Valencia. Pulisic joined Milan on a four-year deal last month. Milan is controlled by the American investment firm RedBird Capital Partners. The 20-year-old Musah is a midfielder who was a regular starter in his three seasons at Valencia. He spent part of his childhood in Castelfranco Veneto near Venice. Musah has made 27 appearances for the United States.

A North Carolina congresswoman injured in a serious automobile accident this week is recovering at home from a broken sternum and bone in her foot. Democrat Kathy Manning's office provided more details Friday about the result of an accident the day before. Both left the hospital Thursday. The highway patrol says that it was a three-vehicle accident and that a driver of another car was cited for failing to yield. Manning's aide was driving the second-term U.S. House member, who represents the 6th Congressional District in north-central North Carolina. The House is in its August recess.

A group of parents in Michigan has won a key ruling in a lawsuit involving the state's newborn blood testing program. A federal judge says Michigan must return or destroy leftover blood spots from nine children or get approval from the parents to continue keeping them. The judge says a form given to parents during childbirth doesn't fully explain how the blood spots are used. It doesn't say that Michigan collects money from researchers and that police could be given access to the blood spots. The judge says it violates the U.S. Constitution. The state says it's reviewing the decision.

On Thursday, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame announced that Keith Urban was among its class of 2023 inductees. The news arrived live from Columbia Studio A, just a block and a half from where the country music superstar stayed when he first landed in the Music City from Australia in 1989, hoping to make a name for himself. He says getting into the hall of fame would have been unbelievable to him at the time. Urban discussed the craft of songwriting, his forthcoming studio album out in 2024 — the longest break he's had between albums since the start of his career — heading back to Las Vegas for an extended residency and beyond.

Atlanta Falcons cornerback Jeff Okudah was carted off the practice field with a potentially serious right ankle injury, dealing a significant blow to the team’s defensive overhaul. Okudah suffered the injury while covering wide receiver Frank Darby during a training camp drill in full pads. Teammates knelt while Okudah was examined on the field before being driven off the field on a cart. Coach Arthur Smith confirmed Okudah was being examined for an ankle injury. Smith says he will wait on results from an MRI before addressing the severity of the injury.

An Oklahoma man has pleaded guilty to threatening to kill several Republican politicians, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Court records show 37-year-old Tyler Jay Marshall of Enid pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of interstate transmission of threatening communications as part of a plea agreement. The indictment says Marshall made the threats in mid-May on the social media platform X, formerly known at Twitter, shortly before DeSantis announced his campaign for president.

North Dakota regulators have denied a siting permit for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline through five states. The North Dakota Public Service Commission denied the permit Friday for the Summit Carbon Solutions Midwest Carbon Express Pipeline. Summit planned a 320-mile route to capture carbon dioxide from more than 30 ethanol plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, and to store it deep underground in North Dakota. Summit says it will revisit its proposal and reapply for the permit.

Singer Lizzo is accused of having once threatened to hit a former backup dancer who filed a lawsuit against the Grammy winner earlier this week, which alleges misconduct including sexual harassment and weight-shaming.

An Oklahoma man has pleaded guilty to threatening to kill several Republican politicians, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Court records show 37-year-old Tyler Jay Marshall of Enid pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of interstate transmission of threatening communications as part of a plea agreement. The indictment says Marshall made the threats in mid-May on the social media platform X, formerly known at Twitter, shortly before DeSantis announced his campaign for president.

North Dakota regulators have denied a siting permit for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline through five states. The North Dakota Public Service Commission denied the permit Friday for the Summit Carbon Solutions Midwest Carbon Express Pipeline. Summit planned a 320-mile route to capture carbon dioxide from more than 30 ethanol plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, and to store it deep underground in North Dakota. Summit says it will revisit its proposal and reapply for the permit.

Singer Lizzo is accused of having once threatened to hit a former backup dancer who filed a lawsuit against the Grammy winner earlier this week, which alleges misconduct including sexual harassment and weight-shaming.

Donny Osmond is about to spend even more time in Las Vegas, come 2024.

Soprano Anna Netrebko, once among the Metropolitan Opera’s biggest box office draws, has sued the company and general manager Peter Gelb, alleging defamation, breach of contract and other violations. The suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, asks for at least $360,000 in damages for lost performance and rehearsal fees. Netrebko claims the Met caused ”severe mental anguish and emotional distress” after it severed ties with her. The Met dropped the Russian soprano from future engagements shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Gelb had demanded she repudiate Russia President President Vladimir Putin.

A movie weapons supervisor has waived her right to a courtroom review of evidence on charges of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting in 2021 of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin. Arizona-based armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed agreed in a court filing Friday to forgo a weeklong preliminary hearing that would have provided court testimony from dozens of people, including eyewitnesses to the shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins at a movie ranch in the desert outside Santa Fe. Defense attorney Jason Bowles has described Hutchins' death as a tragic accident and says that Gutierrez-Reed committed no crime. Gutierrez-Reed has not entered a plea on manslaughter and evidence-tampering charges.

Fifty years after the U.S. Endangered Species Act took effect, officials say 99% of the animals and plants it protects have survived. But some scientists and activists fear the act itself is in trouble. More than 1,600 species are listed as endangered or threatened under the law, which prohibits harming them or destroying their habitat. It won easy approval from Congress in 1973 and Republican President Richard Nixon signed it. Since then, opposition has grown from industry and landowner groups who say it hampers economic growth and property rights. Some lawmakers are trying to weaken the law and remove species from the protected list. Supporters are fighting back, saying the law is more important than ever.

It has been three years since hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion was shot in the feet following an altercation with the Canadian rapper Tory Lanez. In the summer of 2020, the pair shared an SUV leaving a party in the Hollywood Hills. Megan testified that she exited the vehicle when Lanez fired at her. In December, a jury convicted Lanez of three felonies. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday. Prosecutors are seeking a 13-year prison sentence and Lanez faces deportation to his native Canada. The litigation has inspired public discourse on misogynoir, gender violence, the reluctance of Black victims to speak to police, online harassment and beyond.

Gwyneth Paltrow is finally making her lifestyle attainable — at least for a short while — as the Oscar winner prepares to list her guesthouse on Airbnb.

'Only Murders in the Building'

It has been three years since hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion was shot in the feet following an altercation with the Canadian rapper Tory Lanez. In the summer of 2020, the pair shared an SUV leaving a party in the Hollywood Hills. Megan testified that she exited the vehicle when Lanez fired at her. In December, a jury convicted Lanez of three felonies. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday. Prosecutors are seeking a 13-year prison sentence and Lanez faces deportation to his native Canada. The litigation has inspired public discourse on misogynoir, gender violence, the reluctance of Black victims to speak to police, online harassment and beyond.

Gwyneth Paltrow is finally making her lifestyle attainable — at least for a short while — as the Oscar winner prepares to list her guesthouse on Airbnb.

'Only Murders in the Building'

A freight train has derailed in upstate New York, disrupting Amtrak service and prompting authorities to close roads in the area. A spokesperson for CSX says about 17 cars of a CSX train hauling mixed freight derailed just before 8 a.m. northwest of Albany. CSX says no crew members were injured and there is no indication of any leak. Montgomery County Undersheriff Carl Rust says the majority of the cars that derailed were empty oil tankers. A spokesperson for Amtrak says all service west of Albany is suspended. Amtrak is working to provide alternative transportation for passengers.

Many of the passengers on a bus that tumbled down a steep hillside in western Mexico, killing 18 and injuring nearly two dozen, were migrants headed for Tijuana at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Nayarit state prosecutor’s office said it had not yet identified the dead from Thursday’s accident, but said they included 10 men, five women and three minors. The prosecutor’s office did identify the 23 injured who were hospitalized. Mexico’s National Immigration Institute said that among them were two Mauritanian and two Indian citizens. There was also a citizen from the Dominican Republic.

Thousands of families in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are struggling with deep food insecurity two months after being cut from the United Nations’ main food assistance program. The World Food Program suspended all food aid to 60% of its beneficiaries in Gaza and the West Bank in June. That marked the largest-ever cut to its funding in the region. Shop owners accustomed to customers with WFP vouchers have seen sales drop. The cuts are exacerbating an already precarious situation in the West Bank where families already struggle with surging violence and the daily difficulties of Israel's occupation.

AP sources say Oregon and Washington are being invited to join the Big Ten.

Conflicts on Wisconsin’s newly liberal controlled state Supreme Court spilled out publicly as the court majority flipped this week, setting the stage for deep divisions on major cases that could determine voting rules in this battleground state, the legality of abortions and legislative boundary lines. Deep partisan division on the court isn’t new. Tensions were so high in 2011 as the court considered a case about collective bargaining rights, that a liberal justice accused one of her conservative colleagues of trying to choke her. And now, they’re at it again. Conservatives controlled the court for 15 years until Tuesday. Liberals will have the majority for at least the next two years.

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: Former President Donald Trump does not face the death penalty on any of the federal charges brought in a recent indictment. The “Barbie” movie didn't rake in more money in a single day than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has ever raised, contrary to claims. Photos show that former President Barack Obama has long used golfer's tape on his hands while on the fairway but some are baselessly casting it as suspicious following the death of his personal chef. Federal prosecutors dropped one campaign finance charge against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried but he still faces other charges.

Fourth-seeded Linda Nosková eased past Anna Karolina Schmiedlová of Slovakia 6-0, 6-2 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Prague Open. The Czech player will face qualifier Tamara Korpatsch of Germany, who upset sixth-seeded Alizé Cornet of France 7-6 (3), 6-1. Also, Nao Hibino of Japan advanced to her first WTA semifinal since 2020 by cruising past Tereza Martincová 6-1, 6-2. Hibino will play Jaqueline Cristian of Romania, who reached her third career semifinal by eliminating eighth-seeded Kateryna Baindl of Ukraine 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.