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Westminster’s tweeters flock to Threads … as the EU misses out

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:41:47 GMT

LONDON — Move over Twitter: Westminster’s finest have a new way to hand over their personal data and break their brains.Just hours after launching on Thursday, Threads — the Twitter rival from Facebook and Instagram owner Meta — is already home to a host of prominent British political tweeters seeking sanctuary from Elon Musk’s troubled platform.And, with the app remaining off-limits in the European Union amid competition concerns, there was plenty of room for gloating about a supposed Brexit dividend.Quick out of the traps to sign up Thursday were social media-savvy Tory MPs including Energy Secretary Grant Shapps, Leveling-Up Minister Dehennna Davison and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. Shapps, an early adopter of Twitter back in 2008, said Threads’ launch reminded him “of when I was the first MP on Twitter. At the time few thought it would amount to much. Let’s see what we’re saying about Threads in 14 years time!”Labour frontbenchers Wes Streeting and Alison M...

Found Summer

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:41:47 GMT

How about that pool/beach day we had yesterday?! Finally, right? If this is your vacation week, it was a rough start to it with complexes of showers and storms keeping it wet and overcast for long stretches, so the sun and the warmth yesterday was a welcomed change. Temps did reach the low 90s inland, while holding in the 80s near the coast. Today, it’ll be very similar. While it is warm and humid today, and good beach/pool weather overall, just keep an eye to the sky for a brief passing showers/storm. They will be few and far between, with only 10-20% of the area picking up on one, but the will be out there. It’ll be coolest at the coast again this afternoon, but temps still run in the upper 70s to 80s there. Waves run 2 feet and water temps have warmed into the 60s to low 70s, so some nice hours on the beach are certainly in store today and again tomorrow. Tomorrow won’t be much different, as highs run in the 80s to near 90. Warmest inland. With the warmth, the...

Fire chief says 2 New Jersey firefighters died battling a blaze deep in a ship carrying 5,000 cars

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:41:47 GMT

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Two firefighters were killed battling a blaze that began when cars caught fire deep inside a cargo ship carrying 5,000 cars at a New Jersey port Wednesday night, Newark’s fire chief said.Firefighters responded to a report of a fire in a cargo ship at Port Newark around 9:30 p.m. and found the fire involving five to seven vehicles on the 10th floor. The blaze quickly extended to the 11th and 12th floors, Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said at a news conference. Firefighters tried to extinguish the fire, but as they were pushed back by the intense heat and two firefighters were lost, he said.Firefighters weren’t initially able to find their colleagues and outside rescue companies from around the state were called in. They were found and removed from the structure, but unfortunately they lost their lives, Jackson said.“We lost two firefighters today,” said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka at the scene. “A tragedy for us in the city of Newark and tragic for all firefighters w...

HBCU Swingman Classic, part of MLB’s All-Star Game, draws Coppin State and Maryland-Eastern Shore players

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:41:47 GMT

Ken Griffey Jr.’s legacy is deep and widespread, and it’s not limited to baseball.Case in point: Maryland-Eastern Shore graduate student outfielder Brantley Cutler said one of his most vivid memories of Griffey is not from his playing days with the Seattle Mariners, but the 13-time All-Star’s role in the film “Little Big League.” In the 1994 movie, one of the main characters hit a long fly ball to center field before Griffey made a leaping catch at the wall to take away a potential home run.“That’s when I first got introduced to Ken Griffey Jr., and I started to look into his career and saw how cool a guy he was and that kind of stuff,” Cutler said. “So I didn’t necessarily grow up watching him, but I could see that he had a really big impact on the game.”Griffey continues to have an effect on baseball and those who play in college. The Hall of Famer and Major League Baseball/MLB Players Association Youth Development ...

Column: With breakups in life and in sports, ‘it’s not what you do but how you do it’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:41:47 GMT

Breakups happen to the best of us. Different kinds of ‘ships — relationships, situationships, friendships, championship teams — eventually come to an end. But when that end catches us off guard, we’re left with a lot of questions.Saturday, James Wade left the Chicago Sky for another opportunity. The announcement came on the heels of the Sky ending a six-game skid. A team in the middle of a rebuild with Wade at the helm was suddenly without its captain.My elders used to say, “It’s not what you say but how you say it.” And in this case we can add, “It’s not what you do but how you do it.”With Wade’s departure, the team isn’t searching to fill just one role — it has to fill two. The 2022 WNBA Executive of the Year was the head coach and general manager, the last such dual role remaining in either the NBA or WNBA. Emre Vatansever, an assistant with the Sky since 2017, will serve as head coach and GM for the re...

Bronco Sport Heritage explores the good ole’ days

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:41:47 GMT

It’s always Heritage Day in Ford’s lineup as the recent revitalization of the Maverick, Ranger and Bronco continue to be a profitable driver for the Ford Motor Co. As the Bronco Sport continues to find its own revitalization in the line-up, it has a lot going for it. Price, Size, fuel mileage, and now… Color!Similar to a 70’s style Ford Bronco in Robin’s Egg Blue, our 2023 Ford Bronco Sport Heritage Limited tester was an eye catcher. Fresh out of the 70’s, the white off-setting wheels and grille fascia’s were all the craze as the Bronco Sport Heritage showed out nicely. As an original Bronco color option in the 1970’s, the Heritage of Robin’s Egg Blue color option and white wheels and red badging are sure to be the talk of the town.The Heritage Edition offers an array of other features as well. Offsetting the historic exterior, is the beautiful interior. Wrapped in a saddle brown plaid leather, the seats are very, very comfortable. Tons of head room ride height excellenc...

Battenfeld: Maura Healey seeks national exposure, leaving crises at home to others

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:41:47 GMT

With the Sumner Tunnel closed and the MBTA in perpetual crisis, Gov. Maura Healey seems more interested in burnishing her national credentials than attending to problems at home.Healey, one of the first openly lesbian governors in the nation, spent a week in Ireland celebrating LGBTQ rights — positioning herself as one of the prominent leaders on that issue in the country.Even though she’s just in the first year of her term, Healey may already be getting tired of dealing with state issues like a late budget and legislative gridlock on tax relief.What could be in Healey’s future in the next few years is still unclear but running for a second term seems far, far away and less and less likely.Instead Healey could be waiting for a national appointment to the Biden administration or a U.S. Senate seat to open up.If Joe Biden doesn’t run again that would likely lead to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren mounting another presidential campaign that could take her out of her Senate seat. You’l...

2 New Jersey firefighters died battling a blaze deep in a ship carrying 5,000 cars

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:41:47 GMT

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Two firefighters were killed battling a blaze that began when cars caught fire deep inside a cargo ship carrying 5,000 cars at a New Jersey port, Newark’s fire chief said Thursday. Responding firefighters found five to seven vehicles already on fire when they reached the 10th floor of the cargo ship at Port Newark around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night. The blaze quickly extended to the 11th and 12th floors, and as firefighters were pushed back by the intense heat, two of them were lost, Fire Chief Rufus Jackson said at a news conference.Firefighters weren’t initially able to find their colleagues and outside rescue companies from around the state were called in. They were found and removed from the structure, but unfortunately they lost their lives, Jackson said.Marine traffic trackers show the Grande Costa D’Avorio, which was built in 2011, arrived from the Port of Baltimore several days earlier.“We lost two firefighters today,” said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka at ...

7 children, 2 adults hurt after car crashes into school in Wimbledon, not far from tennis tournament

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:41:47 GMT

LONDON (AP) — London police say seven children and two adults were injured Thursday when a car crashed into an elementary school in Wimbledon, in southwest London.The Metropolitan Police said the incident was not being treated as a “terror” attack. Police were called to The Study all-girls school at 9:54 a.m., along with paramedics in ground and air ambulances. The driver of the vehicle stopped at the scene, police added. There have been no arrests. The incident occurred about a mile away from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club as it hosts the world-famous tennis tournament. The road the incident took place on is very narrow.“The size of the response tells you how serious the incident is and there are a number of casualties, and I understand that a number of those are being treated as critical,” Stephen Hammond, Wimbledon’s representative in Parliament, told the BBC. The Associated Press

Missing 2-year-old girl is found dead in Detroit, after her disappearance sparked massive search

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 11:41:47 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A missing 2-year-old girl was found dead in Detroit on Wednesday, authorities announced, three days after her disappearance sparked a massive search. Wynter Cole Smith’s body was discovered in the evening near a municipal airport that is about 6 miles (10 kilometers) northeast of downtown Detroit, Chief Ellery Sosebee of the Lansing Police Department reported.“I am deeply saddened to report that the search for Wynter Cole Smith has come to an end. … This investigation has moved from a missing child case to a homicide investigation,” Sosebee added. Sosebee declined to comment further on details of the ongoing investigation but promised the girl’s family will get justice. “This is not the outcome anyone had hoped for,” the chief said. A man identified as Rashad Trice is accused of stabbing the girl’s 22-year-old mother, his ex-girlfriend, at her Lansing home and stealing her car. Police said he also took the toddler with him on Sunday, but...