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MBTA workers widened faulty Green Line tracks during early morning operations

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:41:11 GMT

The MBTA resumed running trains on the Green Line Extension at full speed on Tuesday following a string of overnight maintenance efforts that involved physically pushing the tracks apart to restore an appropriate width.MBTA officials announced Wednesday that about a mile’s worth of slow zones had been lifted across the Green Line Extension’s Union Square and Medford branches, just a bit more than two weeks after the sudden revelation that trains were limited to 3 mph because of rails that were too close together.At first, it was unclear what work the agency had performed to allow trains to resume full-speed travel, but an MBTA official told the News Service that crews spent several recent nights widening sections of the rails to address the narrowness problems.The official, who communicated only on background, likened the process to resetting a door hinge. Workers removed screw legs holding down rail tie plates, then repositioned those plates.They then placed a device in...

Road repair projects continue in these San Diego areas

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:41:11 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- As roads continue to be repaired across San Diego, city officials announced Wednesday that crews will start resurfacing streets as early as this week in some areas.Over the next three weeks, streets in and around Valencia Park, University Heights, Hillcrest, Ridgeview and Emerald Hills will be resurfaced as part of the Transportation Department’s ongoing Slurry Seal Project.To explain that further, slurry seal is the application of a mixture of water, asphalt emulsion, very small crushed rock, and additives to an existing asphalt pavement surface to help preserve and protect the underlying pavement structure. It also provides a new driving surface. Escondido prepares for proposed water rate hikes Slurry seal is often completed in phases over several days or weeks. The city says multiple slurry seal projects are happening across San Diego simultaneously.Through the month of October, the following roads will be resurfaced as part of this project:Vermont Street Rich...

‘It was intolerable’: Ottawa local testifies at trial of ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:41:11 GMT

OTTAWA — Local Ottawa resident Sarah Gawman told an Ottawa courtroom today that the sound of horn honking during the “Freedom Convoy” was incessant and intolerable.Gawman is the first civilian witness to testify in the criminal trial of protest organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber.She says she lived in a high-rise condo building downtown Ottawa when the protest began last year, and trucks and other vehicles lined up in her neighbourhood as far as the eye could see.The Crown intends to call five local residents as part of its case, as well as an employee for the National Arts Centre and an employee for OC Transpo, the local public-transit operator. The Crown says it plans to ask the witnesses about the turmoil they observed during the protest, in an effort to tie disruptions to Lich and Barber.Justice Heather Perkins-McVey says she will make sure the witnesses stick to the things they observed first-hand, and won’t allow them to stray into the ways the protest af...

A youth football coach was shot in front of his team during practice at a park in St. Louis

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:41:11 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A youth football coach was shot in front of his players during practice at a park in St. Louis, sending him to the hospital in critical but stable condition, authorities said.The 30-year-old coach was shot multiple times Tuesday evening at Sherman Park. Daryl Clemmons, 43, later turned himself in, police said. He was charged Wednesday with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Clemmons does not yet have an attorney who could speak on his behalf, according to Missouri’s online court-reporting system. A call to a phone number listed for him went unanswered.Alderwoman Sharon Tyus told KMOV-TV that the shooter and the coach got into some type of altercation, which led to “gunfire in front of the children.” Police have not said if Clemmons was a parent or if the altercation was related to the football team. Police have not disclosed the ages of the players.“For someone to take out a gun and to lose their cool, it easily could’ve been something more tragic,” Tyu...

Hunting for decent returns with low risk? Here are the basics of GICs

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:41:11 GMT

TORONTO — As interest rates have risen, so has the popularity of guaranteed investment certificates. Here are the basics:What is a guaranteed investment certificate?A guaranteed investment certificate offers a set rate of return while keeping the original amount of money invested safe, making it an attractive option for investors with a low risk tolerance. One of the key features to be aware of with GICs is your money is typically locked in for a specific period of time, referred to as a term. Terms are usually one-, three- or five-years, although shorter and longer terms are available. GICs can be held in virtually all investment accounts, including a tax-free savings account and registered retirement savings account. What are the main pros and cons of GICs?One of the biggest attractions of a GIC is the fact that the money you invest and the rate of return are, as the name implies, guaranteed.There are a variety of terms and interest rate options available to investors and deposits...

Rising GIC returns broadening their appeal to younger investors

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:41:11 GMT

OTTAWA — Rising interest rates have pushed up costs for borrowers and made mortgages, car loans and other debt more expensive, but the flip side for savers is the better rates for investments such as guaranteed investment certificates.While among the safest forms of investment, GICs had fallen out of favour due to the paltry returns in recent years. Now, experts say higher rates have made GICs more appealing.Gabriel Lalonde, president of MDL Financial Group, said GICs are now a more attractive investment for retirees and those approaching retirement.“Most people have a portion of fixed income in their portfolios, unless they’re really, really young and, up until now, we haven’t really looked at GICs because the interest rates were not very good,” Lalonde said. Unlike a stock, your original investment in a GIC is guaranteed. They are also eligible for protection under the Canada Deposit Insurance Corp. and provincial deposit insurers.But that safety came with ...

Wisconsin GOP to vote on banning youth transgender surgery, barring transgender girls from sports

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:41:11 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly was poised Thursday to pass contentious legislation barring transgender youth from obtaining gender-affirming surgery and limiting their participation on sports teams despite a veto threat from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.GOP legislators across the United States are working to limit transgender youth’s rights, sparking fierce pushback from the transgender community and triggering discrimination lawsuits along the way. Now the battle has come to Wisconsin.Assembly passage would send the legislation to the Republican-controlled state Senate. If that chamber passes the package it would go next to Evers, who has already promised the bills will never become law.“We’re going to veto every single one of them (the bills),” Evers told transgender youth and their supporters who gathered at the state Capitol last week for packed hearings on the proposals. “I know you’re here because you’re pissed off and y...

Crane removing famous tree by Hadrian’s Wall in England that was cut down in act of vandalism

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:41:11 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A crane on tracks was removing a much-loved tree Thursday from the place near the Roman landmark of Hadrian’s Wall in northeastern England where the sycamore was cut down two weeks ago in an apparent act of vandalism.The National Trust, which seeks to protect England’s heritage and natural landscapes, said the crane will lift the often-photographed and painted tree, which some believe to have been around 300 years old, from where it lies near the delicate and now-damaged wall. Andrew Poad, the site’s general manager for the National Trust, said it was necessary to move the tree “both to preserve the world-famous monument that is Hadrian’s Wall, and to make the site safe again for visitors.”Though the 50-foot (15-meter) tree is too big to move in one piece, experts hope the trunk can be kept in large sections in order to leave future options open on what could be done. The stump, which could generate new shoots, will be kept in place and is currently behind a protective...

Early morning storms leave path of damage from Tampa Bay into north Florida. No injuries reported

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:41:11 GMT

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — A storm system that moved across parts of Florida early Thursday left a path of damage to cars, houses and businesses, authorities said. Police in Clearwater, which is on Florida’s Gulf Coast near Tampa, said in a social media post that no injuries were reported when two possible tornadoes touched down around 2 a.m. Thursday. Photos shared by the agency showed gutters from a home that pierced the windshield of a car. The storms moved north into Citrus County, where officials canceled public school classes for the day.“The west side of Citrus County has experienced significant damage from an unconfirmed tornado(s) which hit the area overnight,” school officials said in a Facebook post shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday. Deputies were directing traffic Thursday morning due to multiple road closures caused by the storm, the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office said on social media. A portion of U.S Highway 19, which is a major thoroughfare through the mostly ru...

Troye Sivan harnesses ‘levity and fun’ to fuel third full album, ‘Something to Give Each Other’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 17:41:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Troye Sivan was initially going to begin his third full-length album with a ballad, a wistful song looking back at lost love. Then he thought better about it. Frisky was the way to go.“I want people to know I’m OK. Things are good. Life is fun. Sex is great,” he says in an interview. “From the second they click play on the album, I wanted to slap them across the face.”The first song — also the first single — is “Rush,” a blast of house and EDM beats topped by a male chanting chorus, combining to create the vibe of a crowded nightclub or strobe-lit rave.“It was a feeling that I knew that I was feeling in life that I hadn’t yet managed to distill,” Sivan says. “When we finally got ‘Rush,’ I was like, ‘OK, this feels exactly the way that I want it to feel and communicates exactly what I wanted to communicate.’” “Rush” — complete with a video in which the first image is of a man’s backside being slapped — was the last song added to “Something to Give Each Other,” S...