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Ticker: Cheers! A bottle of Scotch whisky sells for a record $2.7 million at auction

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:30 GMT

A bottle of Scotch whisky billed as “the most sought-after” in the world sold Saturday for almost 2.2 million pounds ($2.7 million), an auction record for a bottle of wine or spirits.The Macallan Adami 1926 sold at Sotheby’s in London, after a bidding war between would-be buyers on the phone and in the room.Just 40 bottles of The Macallan 1926 were bottled in 1986 after being aged in sherry casks for 60 years. Twelve of the bottles, including the one sold Saturday, had labels designed by Italian painter Valerio Adami.Another bottle from the same cask was sold by Sotheby’s in 2019 for almost 1.5 million pounds, which was a record for wine or spirits until Saturday.“The Macallan 1926 is the one whisky that every auctioneer wants to sell and every collector wants to own,” said Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s global head of spirits.He said the record-breaking sale was “nothing short of momentous for the whisky industry as a whole. ”The bottle sold Saturday is the first to have undergone recondit...

Third time proves to be the charm for Walpole field hockey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:30 GMT

WORCESTER – Finally, bacon is served.After twice losing to Andover in the state championship the last two years by one goal, the top-seeded Walpole field hockey team got its revenge Saturday at WPI with its own 1-0 win over the No. 2 Golden Warriors in the programs’ third straight Div. 1 state final showdown.Izzy Adams scored the lone goal in the first quarter, proving the difference to help end the Porkers’ (22-1) six-year title drought.Walpole won its Div. 1-leading 13th state championship as a result, doing so in front of a collection of recent alumni that got so close to it themselves against Andover (19-3).“I wanted it for them more than anything else,” said Walpole head coach Jen Quinn. “Losing last year, it’s so hard. I feel so bad for them. They really worked hard. A lot of this group has been around for two years, they’ve been at this for two or three years. They’ve been really plugging away.”“This is probably the best feeling I’ve ever had in my entire life,” added senior ...

Bruins react to Milan Lucic arrest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:30 GMT

Milan Lucic, one of the Bruins’ most recognizable and well-liked players both inside the dressing room and out, was arrested on Friday night for an alleged domestic incident in Boston.It is Lucic’s second stint with the B’s. A member of the 2011 Stanley Cup team, the 35-year-old Lucic had played eight years with the B’s before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings. He spent eight years with the Kings, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames before re-signing with the B’s in what had been one of the feel-good stories of the summer.He has been out of the lineup with a lower body injury since Oct. 21.“We’re aware of the Looch situation and as an organization it’s something we take extremely seriously. Looch is taking a leave of absence from the team right now. We support the Lucic family and we will continue to provide support and help for the Lucic family,” said coach Jim Montgomery, echoing the team’s statement.Captain Brad Marchand was draf...

American arrested in Venezuela just days after Biden administration eases oil sanctions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:30 GMT

A California man’s family is pleading for his release after they say he was wrongfully arrested in Venezuela and held for tens of thousands of dollars in ransom just days after the Biden administration eased crippling oil sanctions on the socialist-run government.Savoi Wright’s Oct. 24 arrest, which had not been previously reported, has become the latest flashpoint in the tenuous relationship between the U.S. and Nicolás Maduro’s government that critics say should lead to a return to sanctions.But all Wright’s family wants is for the 38-year-old businessman to be returned home. They know precious little about the circumstances of his arrest. No criminal charges have been filed, he has not been allowed to see a lawyer and the Venezuelan government hasn’t said where he is being held.“It’s a nightmare. It’s like you’re watching a horror movie but you’re in it,” his mother, Erin Stewart, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from her Oakland home.Wright joins at least...

Last of 4 men who escaped from a Georgia jail last month is caught

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:30 GMT

STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. (AP) — The last of four men who escaped from a Georgia jail in October was caught Saturday, authorities said. Joey Fournier, 53, was captured near Stockbridge, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) away from the jail in Bibb County, just before noon, Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said in a news release. Davis said last month that Fournier, Marc Kerry Anderson, Johnifer Dernard Barnwell and Chavis Demaryo Stokes escaped through a damaged window and a cut fence at the county jail on Oct. 16.“We are grateful that this last escapee has been captured,” Davis said in an emailed statement. “My heartfelt appreciation goes out to all of the hard working law enforcement officers from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and from all of our partner agencies who worked tirelessly to bring these four fugitives back into custody.”Davis did not provide any additional details on how Fournier was caught.Barnwell was taken back into custody Nov. 12, Chavis Demaryo Stokes was caug...

Thousands march in Jerusalem to press Israel’s government to do more to free hostages held in Gaza

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:30 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of family members and supporters of some 240 hostages held in Gaza streamed into Jerusalem on Saturday, castigating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over his management of the war with Hamas and pleading with the government to do more to bring their loved ones home. The march capped a five-day trek from Tel Aviv and represented the largest protest on behalf of the hostages since they were dragged into Gaza by Hamas on Oct. 7 as part of the militants’ deadly attack in southern Israel. About 1,200 people were killed in Israel on the day of the surprise Hamas assault.Israel declared war in response, and more than 11,500 Palestinians have been killed in the past six weeks as the Israeli military conducts a punishing air and ground offensive in Gaza, where Hamas militants have ruled for the past 16 years.Israeli leaders have set dual objectives — to crush Hamas and to bring the hostages home. But they have not made clear to fam...

Weekend Break: Disney 100 Exhibit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:30 GMT

Weekend Break: Disney 100 ExhibitLove the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Angaza Center to minimize digital divide globally

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:30 GMT

The nonprofit, Angaza center aims to minimize the digital divide globally, from Chicago all the way to Congo. Found Michael Odongo and Nikhil Uchil join WGN Weekend Morning News to share more.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day events in Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:30 GMT

As Saturday is International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day, events across the country are being held in which survivors of suicide loss come together to find connection, understanding and hope through their shared experience. Angela Cummings, the executive director of the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention joined WGN Weekend Morning News to share more about events in the Chicagoland area.

Taylor Swift fan dies at Rio concert amid high temperatures, lack of water

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:30 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A 23-year-old Taylor Swift fan died at the singer's Eras Tour concert in Rio de Janeiro Friday night, according to a statement from the show's organizers in Brazil. Both fans and politicians reacted to the news with outrage.The cause of death for Ana Clara Benevides Machado has not yet been announced. The office of Rio’s public prosecutor opened a criminal investigation and said Benevides body was being examined.But concert-goers complained they were not allowed to take water into Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium despite soaring temperatures, and federal authorities announced that free water would be made available at all future concerts.In a handwritten note shared on her social media, Swift said she had a “shattered heart."“There’s very little information I have other than the fact that she was so incredibly beautiful and far too young,” the singer wrote of the young woman.The show's organizer, Time4Fun, said on Instagram that paramedics attended to Be...