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Queen’s freezing hiring amid projected deficit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:31 GMT

Queen’s University says it’s imposing an immediate freeze on hiring for full-time positions as the school projects a large deficit for 2023-24.The university says in response to cumulative financial pressures it will run a $62.8 million operating budget deficit, with projected expenses significantly outpacing income the school looks to receive from tuition payments.It’s the second straight year they’ve run a deficit, and Queen’s puts the bulk of the blame on the province for freezing tuition fee raises in response to the pandemic. “The impact of the provincial government’s 10 per cent tuition cut for Ontario students in 2019, and subsequent tuition freeze, has cost the university $179.4 million to date,” the university’s statement reads. “Ongoing inflationary costs and a decline in international student enrolment in the aftermath of the pandemic have added to the budgetary strain.”Queen’s, like other universities, has...

Police: 6 arrested on drug charges after search of ‘filthy’ New Bedford apartment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:31 GMT

Six people are facing criminal charges in connection with a drug operation that was being run out of a “problematic’ residence in New Bedford, police announced Saturday.Officers executing a search warrant at 33 Crapo St. around 6 p.m. Tuesday found “deplorable” conditions inside, including containers, toilets, and bathtubs filled with urine and feces and the floors soaked with urine, according to police.Police say the search uncovered crack cocaine, 19 Suboxone film strips, a digital scale, and packaging materials. Twelve rounds of .410 shotgun shells were also allegedly found inside.Alex Marabuto, 37, Demaurice Andrews, 24, Shannon Smith, 24, Derek Brown, 56, Sophia Janeiro, 35, and Jessica Garcia, 43, were arrested in connection with the search.The conditions within the apartment were reported to the New Bedford Neighborhood Task Force for further scrutiny.“This case highlights the variety of dangerous situations that officers encounter on a daily basis. In...

German surgeon fired after getting hospital cleaner to assist amputation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:31 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Officials at a hospital in western Germany have expressed regret after it emerged that one of their surgeons got a cleaner to assist in a toe amputation.Public broadcaster SWR reported Friday that the incident at the Mainz University Hospital, which happened in 2020, didn’t result in any complications to the patient but the doctor has since been fired.The hospital’s chief executive, Norbert Pfeiffer, said the surgeon wrongly decided to go ahead with the routine procedure even though no qualified assistant was available, SWR reported.When the patient, who had received a local anesthetic, became restless the doctor asked a nearby cleaner to hold the man’s leg and pass surgical instruments, according to local daily Mainzer Allgemeine Zeitung. The paper reported that the cleaner had no medical experience.The incident came to light after a hospital manager spotted the cleaner — bloody gauze pads in hand — in the operating theater, it reported.“This should never have happene...

Boston judge rules against American Airlines, JetBlue northeast partnership

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:31 GMT

A federal judge in Boston ruled Friday that a northeast “alliance” between American Airlines and JetBlue must end, siding with government lawyers who argued the partnership would further consolidate the airline industry and harm air travelers.The ruling hands a major win to the Biden administration’s Department of Justice, which originally sued to block the so-called Northeast Alliance between the two airlines in September 2021. That proposed deal saw American Airlines and JetBlue coordinate closely on flight operations in Boston and New York.Judge Leo Sorokin said the Northeast Alliance “substantially diminishes competition in the domestic market for air travel.”“It does so by combining the Boston and New York operations of two airlines that are among the most significant competitors in that region,” Sorokin wrote in a 94-page ruling. “These two powerful carriers act as one entity in the northeast, allocating markets between them and replacing full-throated competition with broad c...

Antwan Staley: Like it or not streaming NFL and other sports is the future for fans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:31 GMT

Get ready to hear a lot of complaining during the playoffs next winter from long-time NFL fans.Not just because a fan’s team might be losing, but one of the NFL postseason games won’t be available on ESPN, NBC, or CBS during the NFL Wild Card Playoff round.On Monday, the NFL announced Peacock will become the home to the first-ever exclusive live-streamed wild card playoff game as it will air in primetime on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024.“We are excited to work with a great partner in Peacock to present the first-ever exclusively live-streamed NFL playoff game this upcoming season,” NFL Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of NFL Media Hans Schroeder said.“Expanding the digital distribution of NFL content while maintaining wide reach for our games continues to be a key priority for the League, and bringing the excitement of an NFL playoff game exclusively to Peacock’s streaming platform is the next step in that strategy.”To the chag...

Looking Glass: Every once in a while, a guy has to blow off some steam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:31 GMT

A man hopped onto the counter of a smoke shop in Winter Gardens, Fla., destroyed some display cases, harassed customers and left. While police were there taking statements, he drove back and hit one of the officers with his car, bit another and fled. He was later spotted dancing on the roof of a car at an intersection where he again resisted arrest. A Taser brought him to the ground, but it took four officers and a police dog to bring him in.HONEY, IT’S TIME TO TALK ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP: A man showed up drunk at his daughter’s high school track meet in Pensacola, Fla., angering his wife who then told him she wouldn’t allow him to join the family for dinner at Olive Garden. He showed up there anyway still intoxicated and quite “belligerent.” That night, while the wife and their two kids were sleeping in the same room, she woke up to see him pointing a gun at her.HE WAS SPEEDING BECAUSE HE THOUGHT HE SAW A SQUIRREL, OFFICER: A drunk driver, who was pulled over for speeding in Spring...

VIDEO: Boat washes ashore in Del Mar

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:31 GMT

DEL MAR, Calif. -- A boat washed ashore in Del Mar on Saturday, the San Diego Sheriff's Department confirmed.FOX 5 was on the scene at 20th Street and Oceanfront around 8:30 a.m. and captured the beached boat on video. Details on the circumstances surrounding the incident are limited at this time. FOX 5 is working to confirm more information. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Television’s biggest mystery: how long will pipeline for new programming be closed?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — For decades, the week in May when television executives revealed what new shows were coming and which old ones were going spoke to the power and influence that ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox had over popular culture.This past week offered more evidence of how that is diminishing, draped in confusion about the future wrought by the Hollywood writers strike.The week of schedule presentations, known as “upfronts” because networks are looking for millions of dollars in advertising commitments, have long been star-studded, news-making events.Johnny Carson announced the end of his late-night run at an NBC upfront. So convinced they had a hit, ABC showed advertisers the entire pilot episode of “Modern Family” one year (the same strategy didn’t work as well when NBC tried it with “Joey”). CBS rewarded advertisers with the Who in a private Carnegie Hall concert.This year the stars stayed home, unwilling to cross picket lines of striking writers outside Manhattan venues. That mea...

Princess Anne offers praise as Canada’s oldest military regiment marks anniversary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:31 GMT

MONCTON, N.B. — Canada’s oldest continually serving cavalry regiment heard words of praise from a royal visitor today as part of festivities marking the southern New Brunswick unit’s 175th anniversary. Princess Anne says the 8th Canadian Hussars have established a reputation for military excellence during its storied history.The princess’s remarks came during anniversary festivities in Moncton, N.B., during which she spoke in her capacity as the regiment’s colonel-in-chief.Anne, sister to the King, has maintained a close relationship with the regiment often known as the Princess Louise’s since her appointment to the ceremonial role in June 1972.She’s slated to take part in a number of anniversary celebrations this weekend in Moncton and nearby Sussex, N.B., where the regiment has its headquarters.In addition to meeting past and present regiment members, the princess is expected to attend a commemorative concert, a parade and a gala dinner.This rep...

What causes those 'unexplainable' traffic jams?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:19:31 GMT

CHICAGO (NEXSTAR) - Traffic jams are nearly unavoidable on highways and interstates. Sometimes it’s easy to explain — crashes, construction, and sudden influxes of cars, for example. Americans are spending more time stuck in traffic than in recent years. Data and analytics firm INRIX recently released its Global Traffic Scorecard, showing plenty of U.S. cities are among the most congested. Nationally, the study found U.S. drivers “lost” an average of 51 hours sitting in traffic in 2022. Drivers in Chicago lost more hours - 155 - than drivers in any other metro, according to INRIX. When there is no obvious reason causing traffic delays, it can be a bit more infuriating.The phenomenon does have a name: phantom jam.  Hobby Lobby doesn’t use barcodes: Here’s their explanation It starts when one vehicle on an already busy roadway slows, even slightly, Berthold Horn, a computer science professor with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology told LiveScience in 2018. ...