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Rishi Sunak scraps northern leg of HS2 rail line

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:51:37 GMT

LONDON — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the remaining leg of the long-planned High Speed Rail 2 project has been scrapped. HS2, a multibillion pound high-speed rail route meant to connect Leeds, Birmingham, and Manchester to London, was announced by then-Prime Minister David Cameron in 2013.Originally meant to connect the North of England to the capital of London, Sunak announced on Wednesday that “the rest of the HS2 project” will be canceled, referring to everything beyond a line from London to Birmingham in the West Midlands which is already under construction.In his speech at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, the prime minister said the remaining £36 billion earmarked for HS2 will instead be reinvested in “hundreds of new transport projects in the North and the Midlands, across the country.”Announcing the changes, Sunak said: “I say to those who backed the project in the first place, the facts have changed, and the right thing to do whe...

Rishi Sunak deploys his secret weapon: His wife, Akshata Murty

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:51:37 GMT

The political spouse is back.Akshata Murty made a surprise appearance at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester Wednesday, hyping up her husband Rishi Sunak and cracking jokes in a bid to humanize the U.K. prime minister, who is trailing in the polls.Taking the stage before Sunak’s own speech, Murty — businesswoman and daughter of a major Indian IT tycoon — described the pair as “one team,” and riffed on Sunak’s public image as a geeky technocrat.She confirmed Sunak “does love a good rom-com, the cheesier the better,” but quipped that episodes of Netflix hit Emily in Paris “are not informing his outlook on the EU.”In the most openly political part of her speech, the PM’s other half said her husband’s outlook could be summed up with one word — “aspiration” — and insisted he would not shy away from telling hard truths.She recalled being struck when the pair met 20 years ago by Sunak’s “deep lo...

Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., the first hero of Camden Yards, excited by resurgence of 2023′s ‘fun, fun team’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:51:37 GMT

When Cal Ripken Jr. played in the first game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in 1992, he was the defending American League Most Valuable Player and the face of Baltimore’s franchise. That game marked his 1,574th straight, well on his way to breaking Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games — and doing so, in 1995, at Camden Yards.He no longer goes to the ballpark each and every day. But the iconic Ironman, who played in 2,632 straight games, has found himself there more this season than he did a few years ago, entertained by the exciting Orioles.Ripken was the first hero of Camden Yards. Now, he has a front-row seat to the best Orioles team the ballpark has seen, at least as far as the win-loss record is concerned, as they’ve amassed nail-biting wins and memorable moments during a splashy 2023 campaign.“They are a fun, fun team to watch,” he said.Ripken is one of baseball history’s heroes and is uniquely heralded in Baltimore. “...

Cancer survivors get a day of pampering at Gillette Stadium

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:51:37 GMT

Biden presses student debt relief as payments resume after the coronavirus pandemic pause

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:51:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced another wave of federal student loan forgiveness on Wednesday as borrowers brace for payments to restart after a three-year pause that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Democratic president’s latest step will help 125,000 borrowers by erasing $9 billion in debt through existing relief programs. In total, 3.6 million borrowers will have had $127 billion in debt wiped out since Biden took office. “President Biden has long believed that college should be a ticket to the middle class, not a burden that weighs on families,” the White House said in a statement.Biden is scheduled to make a formal announcement at the White House at 1 p.m. ET. Biden promised to help alleviate the burden of student debt while running for president, and he’s been under pressure to follow through even though his original plan was overturned by the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.He’s been relying on a patchwork of different ...

Russia says it has foiled a major Ukraine drone attack as concerns grow over Kyiv’s weapons supplies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:51:37 GMT

Russian air defenses shot down 31 Ukrainian drones during a concerted nighttime attack by Kyiv’s forces on border regions, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday, as uncertainty grew over Ukraine’s future access to weapons and ammunition from its Western allies.The drone attack appeared to be Kyiv’s largest single cross-border drone assault reported by Moscow since it launched its invasion 20 months ago. There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties. Ukraine is pressing on with a slow-moving counteroffensive it launched three months ago to expel Russian invaders, though mounting concerns about replenishing its military stocks and cracks in the Western wall of support cast a cloud over its efforts.Adm. Rob Bauer, the head of NATO’s Military Committee, sounded the alarm about depleted stockpiles.“The bottom of the barrel is now visible,” Bauer said of weapons systems and ammunition supplies.With the war of attrition likely continuing through winter into ...

Got packages to return? Call Uber. The ride-hailing service is now offering to return parcels for $5

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:51:37 GMT

Uber is adding a new task to its list of services: mailing consumers’ return packages.The ride-hailing and delivery company said Wednesday that its drivers will collect up to five prepaid and sealed packages and drop them off at a local post office or at UPS or FedEx stores. Uber will charge a flat fee of $5 for the service or $3 for its Uber One members.The San Francisco-based company said the service will be available in nearly 5,000 U.S. cities to start. Uber said customers will be able to choose package drop off locations within its app. Only locations open for at least the next hour will be listed. Drivers will provide visual confirmation once a package has been dropped off.While the service is expected to be used primarily to return packages, Uber drivers will also mail new packages that are sealed and have prepaid labels.The new service gives Uber a vast opportunity. FedEx and UPS deliver 31 million parcels each day, while the U.S. Postal Service delivers 25 million, sa...

Pilot accused of stalking New York woman via small airplane, flying from Vermont

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:51:37 GMT

BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A man has been accused of stalking a woman in New York via his small airplane, flying out of an airport in nearby Vermont, police said.Michael Arnold, 65, was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday in Bennington, Vermont. He was arrested Tuesday as he was driving into the William H. Morse State Airport in town. Police said his single-engine Cessna 180 was at the airport and he had been flying from there.Arnold, of Manchester, New Hampshire, had been served with a temporary order of protection from a court in Saratoga, New York, in May. A specific condition of that order was that he “cease and desist from flying any and all aircraft while the order remains in effect,” Bennington Police Chief Paul Doucette said in a news release.Police had been notified by the FBI in Albany that New York authorities had been investigating Arnold on suspicion of stalking the woman in Schuylerville, for several years, Doucette said. Schuylerville is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) ...

Western countries want a UN team created to monitor rights violations and abuses in Sudan

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:51:37 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Four Western countries floated a proposal Wednesday for the United Nations’ top human rights body to appoint a team of experts to monitor and report on abuses and rights violations in war-wracked Sudan.Britain, Germany, Norway and the United States are leading the call for the Human Rights Council to name a three-person fact-finding mission to look into possible crimes against refugees, women and children, and others in Sudan.Sudan was plunged into chaos when long-simmering tensions between the military, headed by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, led by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, escalated into open warfare in April.The U.N. estimates that 5,000 people have been killed and more than 12,000 others wounded since the conflict began.Over 5.2 million people have fled their homes, including more than 1 million who crossed into neighboring countries, and around 25 million people — half of the country’s population — need humanitarian aid, the U...

Thousands of US health care workers go on strike in multiple states over wages and staff shortages

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:51:37 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Picketing began Wednesday morning at Kaiser Permanente hospitals as some 75,000 health care workers go on strike in Virginia, California and three other states over wages and staffing shortages, marking the latest major labor unrest in the United States.Kaiser Permanente is one of the country’s larger insurers and health care system operators, with 39 hospitals nationwide. The non-profit company, based in Oakland, California, provides health coverage for nearly 13 million people, sending customers to clinics and hospitals it runs or contracts with to provide care.The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, representing about 85,000 of the health system’s employees nationally, approved a strike for three days in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, and for one day in Virginia and Washington, D.C.The strikers include licensed vocational nurses, home health aides and ultrasound sonographers, as well as technicians in radiology, X-ray, surgical, pharmacy ...