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3 years after White’s Ferry closed, Md. group feels ‘betrayed’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

White’s Ferry stopped running on Dec. 28, 2020 after a stalemate between then-ferry owner Herb Brown and Libby Devlin, owner of Rockland Farm, which is the landing site in Virginia.(WTOP/Neal Augenstein) White’s Ferry stopped running on Dec. 28, 2020 after a stalemate between then-ferry owner Herb Brown and Libby Devlin, owner of Rockland Farm, which is the landing site in Virginia.(WTOP/Neal Augenstein) On the third anniversary of the shutdown of historic White’s Ferry, which runs between Montgomery County, Maryland, and Loudoun County, Virginia, people on the Maryland side of the Potomac River say they feel “beyond frustrated” and “betrayed,” that the ferry remains closed with “no e...

Today in Sports – Week Ahead, December 29 January 4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

Dec. 291926 — Merlyn Phillips of the Montreal Maroons scores five seconds into the game at Chicago for an NHL record for the fastest goal from the start of a game. The Black Hawks win the game in overtime, 5-4. It would be matched three times.1934 — The first college basketball doubleheader is played at New York’s Madison Square Garden. NYU beats Notre Dame 25-18 and Westminster defeats St. John’s 37-33.1957 — Tobin Rote passes for four touchdowns and scores another to give the Detroit Lions a 59-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the NFL championship game.1961 — Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scores 60 points against the Los Angeles Lakers at Hershey, Pa., the future site of his 100-point game.1963 — Chuck McKinley and Dennis Ralston give the United States a 3-2 victory over Australia for the Davis Cup title.1968 — The Baltimore Colts shut out the Browns 34-0 to win the NFL championship at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.1968 — The New York Jets beat the Oakland Rai...

Sports on TV for Friday, December 29

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

(All times Eastern)Schedule subject to change and/or blackoutsFriday, December 29COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN’S)6 p.m.ACCN — North Florida at Miami7 p.m.BTN — E. Kentucky at PurduePEACOCK — Maine at MinnesotaSECN — Illinois St. at Kentucky8 p.m.ACCN — Charleston Southern at North CarolinaCBSSN — St. Thomas (Minn.) at North DakotaPEACOCK — Jackson St. at Northwestern8:30 p.m.PAC-12N — Washington St. at Utah9 p.m.BTN — Fairleigh Dickinson at IllinoisESPN2 — San Diego St. at GonzagaESPNU — Washington at Colorado10:30 p.m.PAC-12N — Arizona at California11 p.m.ESPN2 — Arizona St. at StanfordCOLLEGE BASKETBALL (WOMEN’S)5 p.m.PAC-12N — Stanford at CaliforniaCOLLEGE FOOTBALL12 p.m.ESPN — The TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: Clemson vs. Kentucky, Jacksonville, Fla.2 p.m.CBS — The Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: Oregon St. vs. Notre Dame, El Paso, Texas3:30 p.m.ESPN — The AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Memphis vs. Iowa St., Memphis, Tenn.8 p.m.ESPN — The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Missouri vs. Ohio St., Arlington,...

Florida pilot displays holiday spirit by outlining Christmas tree while on flight path

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

A pilot in Southwest Florida put their Christmas spirit on full display. His plane took off from Punta Gorda Airport and he outlined a Christmas tree by using a plane flight path. The whole ride took about 101 minutes, while the tree took only about 50 minutes to outline. All of this happening on Christmas Eve.

Airlines are frustrating travelers by changing frequent flyer program rules – here’s why they keep doing it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

(CNN) — As the US holiday travel season picks up, many people are noticing that their frequent flyer benefits aren’t going as far as they used to.In September 2023, Delta Air Lines revamped its frequent flyer program to make it tougher to earn status — a tiered system offering travel privileges based on the reward points earned — only to partially reverse course a month later and make it easier. American Airlines also made big changes to its loyalty scheme in 2022 and minor changes in spring 2023. And British Airways recently announced that it is adjusting the way it awards points for travel.We are business school professors who study rewards programs. Many people think flying is a miserable experience, and having status sometimes makes flights better. So it’s only fair that frequent flyers are asking why it’s seemingly harder to obtain such status.Why miles are a multibillion-dollar businessOne big idea to understand is that airlines don’t earn very much money, if any at all, from ...

The New York Times sues OpenAI and Microsoft for using its stories to train chatbots

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times is striking back against the threat that artificial intelligence poses to the news industry, filing a federal lawsuit Wednesday against OpenAI and Microsoft seeking to end the practice of using its stories to train chatbots.The Times says the companies are threatening its livelihood by effectively stealing billions of dollars worth of work by its journalists, in some cases spitting out Times’ material verbatim to people who seek answers from generative artificial intelligence like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The newspaper’s lawsuit was filed in federal court in Manhattan and follows what appears to be a breakdown in talks between the newspaper and the two companies, which began in April.The media has already been pummeled by a migration of readers to online platforms. While many publications — most notably the Times — have successfully carved out a digital space, the rapid development of AI threatens to significantly upend the publishing in...

Adding a pet may offset a type of cognitive decline if you’re over 50 and live alone, study says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

People over 50 living alone may be able to counter decline in their verbal cognition by adding a pet to their home, according to a new study. Losing the ability to easily find words and understand others are early signs of dementia, research has found.“Pet ownership may completely offset the effect of living alone on cognitive decline,” said study coauthor Dr. Ciyong Lu, professor of epidemiology and medical science and associate dean of the School of Public Health at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China.However, the study could only show an association, not direct cause and effect, said neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of research at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Florida. He was not involved in the study.“It’s more accurate to say MAY slow down (cognitive decline) and that more prospective studies including a randomized controlled trial would be needed to make more definitive conclusions,” Isaacson said in an email.“One caution I would say is that ...

Two teens killed in late-night shooting in Lynn

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

Two teenagers were killed following a late-night shooting in Lynn on Wednesday, according to authorities.The Essex County District Attorney’s Office said the two victims were found by police when officers were called to Camden Street around 10:20 p.m. after receiving multiple 911 calls for shots fired.Arriving officers found two males suffering from gunshot wounds, according to the DA’s office, both of whom were taken to North Shore Medical Center.In an update Thursday morning, authorities said the first victim, a 16-year-old, was pronounced dead in the emergency room while a second victim, a 19-year-old male, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.Wednesday night’s shooting was the second such incident in Lynn in just over 24, after another shooting in the area of State Street left three victims suffering from multiple gunshot wounds on Tuesday.In the same update, the DA’s office stated those victims had been taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and we...

Somerville apartment fire sends 3, including firefighter, to hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

Somerville Fire responded to a fire in a three-story apartment building on Highland Avenue just after 10:30 Wednesday night. According to authorities, after forcing entry into the building firefighters encountered heavy smoke. A male occupant was found on a couch and pulled form the apartment.Using a thermal imaging camera, a female occupant was located in the bedroom of the unit and was also removed. Both were transported to the hospital. A responding Somerville firefighter was also injured and transported to the hospital for medical attention. He was treated and has been released. Somerville Fire Chief Charles Breen said a sprinkler system was able to keep the fire to the one first-floor apartment where it started, preventing “a much more serious fire”. Residents of the more than 50 other units in the building were able to return safely, but the two victims have been displaced. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Lynn shooting Wednesday leaves 19-year-old, 16-year-old dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:19 GMT

A 16-year-old and 19-year-old were killed Wednesday night in Lynn in the city’s second shooting in as many days, authorities said in a Thursday morning statement.Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker and Lynn Police Chief Christopher Reddy said police responded to reports of shots fired near 10 Camden Street in Lynn just before 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.Police found two males with gunshot wounds who were transported to North Shore Medical Center. The 16-year-old was pronounced dead in the emergency room and the 19-year-old “succumbed to his injuries at the hospital,” authorities said.“Effects of gun violence are devastating especially when young people are involved and losing their lives. Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to my office, the Lynn Police, and Lynn officials are committed to exhausting every possible resource in an effort to interrupt this pattern of senseless violence,” Tucker said in a statement.Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson said the city offered its condole...