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Weeks of Green Line closures begin as MBTA tackles track issues

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:35:18 GMT

Four weeks of disruption to Green Line riders kicked off Monday, with construction aimed at fixing narrow tracks and eliminating speed restrictions on the beleaguered line.Trains will largely be replaced by shuttle buses, with regular bus and Commuter Rail service available as other travel alternatives over that time period, as the MBTA begins to implement its new “track improvement plan.”Highly-publicized work on both Green Line Extension branches was set to begin Monday night and last through Dec. 10. Train service will be cut off from 8:45 p.m. to end of service between North Station and Union Square, as well as the Medford/Tufts station.Crews will perform “critical track work” during that two-week period, to alleviate tight-gauge conditions on the two GLX branches and lift two speed restrictions on the Lechmere viaduct.MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng, who disclosed the narrow-track conditions on the Green Line Extension in October, said at a Nov. 16 board meeting that the plann...

US airports saw record passenger volumes, but fewer headaches, over Thanksgiving weekend

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:35:18 GMT

By DEE-ANN DURBIN (AP Business Writer)A record number of passengers traveled through U.S. airports over Thanksgiving weekend, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday.The TSA said it screened just over 2.9 million passengers on Sunday, surpassing the previous record of 2.88 million set on June 30. That was 10% more than the Sunday after Thanksgiving last year.Travel was relatively smooth despite the crowds. On Sunday, just 55 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were cancelled, according to FlightAware, a tracking service. Nearly 8,000 flights were delayed, including several hundred that were impacted by snow in Denver and Chicago.Airlines were eager to avoid the meltdowns that marred travel last December, when severe winter storms knocked out thousands of flights and left millions of passengers stranded. Southwest, which canceled nearly 17,000 flights last year, said it purchased additional deicing trucks and updated its crew-scheduling technology. The airline was ...

How to finance a garage or detached structure and protect your home’s value

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:35:18 GMT

Erik J. Martin | Bankrate.com (TNS)Detached structures are a great way to add space and value to your home. Whether it’s a workshop, storage space, garage or accessory dwelling unit (ADU), the presence of a detached structure to your property could positively impact its worth.While the long-term benefits are great, detached structures are expensive to build. If you do not have the funds to pay upfront, there are financing options available. Let’s look at the ins and outs of these add-ons.Should you borrow to finance a garage or detached structure?You can, of course, pay for your detached structure in cash, but considering that they can cost well into the five figures — even up to $110,000 in some elaborate cases — that might not be the most feasible option.Some scenarios when it might make sense to finance your detached structure project include:•If you don’t have all of the cash needed to pay the full cost of the project.•If you have equity in your home that can be tapped to fund t...

Body found inside hole in Linda Vista

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:35:18 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A body was found late Monday morning inside a hole on a hill in Linda Vista, authorities confirmed. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department responded to calls of a person in a hole or a "tunnel" around 10:13 a.m. Monday. SDFD spent nearly an hour working to free the individual from the confined space. Man shot, boy stabbed in Lakeside SkyFOX was overhead as crews appeared to dig on a hillside in a vacant lot near Osler and Ulric streets in the Linda Vista neighborhood of San Diego.SDFD have confirmed one person was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:27 a.m. The body has been turned over to the San Diego Police Department. Authorities are holding a press conference on the incident at this time. This story is developing. Stay with FOX 5 for the latest updates.

Solo-vehicle crash on I-805 prompts multiple lane closures

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:35:18 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- Multiple lanes of the northbound Interstate 805 through Chula Vista were blocked Monday morning after a traffic collision, according to California Highway Patrol.The collision was reported around 10:45 a.m. Authorities said a truck pulling a trailer hit a wall along the interstate near the Palomar Street exit. According to CHP logs, crews had to rescue passengers from the vehicle. It is unclear how many individuals were in the truck at the time of the crash or if any sustained injuries. San Diego ranked worst US city for parking availability: study The right two lanes of the roadway were blocked by crews for a little over an hour as a result of the crash, Caltrans said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. All lanes were reopened around noon.A SigAlert was also issued due to traffic, as motorists were reportedly backed up to Telegraph Canyon Road.No additional details about the collision were immediately available.

Remains of a WWII heavy bomber gunner identified nearly 80 years after his death

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:35:18 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Army Air Force gunner’s remains have been accounted for nearly eight decades after the heavy bomber he was flying in was shot down over France during World War II, military officials said Monday.Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall, 21, of Leesburg, Florida, was identified in July by scientists who used anthropological and DNA analysis, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release.Hall was assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) in the European Theater in January 1944, officials said. The airman was the left waist gunner on a B-24D Liberator called “Queen Marlene” when it was attacked by German air forces near Équennes-Éramecourt, France. German forces found the crash site and recovered nine sets of remains, which were interred in the French cemetery at Poix-de-Picardie. Hall’s remains were not accounted for after the war, and he was declared non-recoverable in 1951.Ongoing research into soldiers missing from co...

New Mexico Supreme Court upholds Democratic-drawn congressional map

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:35:18 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court upheld a Democratic-drawn congressional map that divvied up a conservative, oil-producing region and reshaped a swing district along the U.S. border with Mexico, in an order published Monday.All five justices signed a shortly worded order to affirm a lower court decision that the redistricting plan enacted by Democratic state lawmakers in 2021 succeeded in substantially diluting votes of their political opponents — but that the changes fell short of “egregious” gerrymandering.The Republican Party argued unsuccessfully that the new district boundaries would entrench Democratic officials in power, highlighting the 2022 defeat of incumbent GOP Congresswoman Yvette Herrell by Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez.Democratic state lawmakers argued that the 2nd District in southern New Mexico remains competitive, with just a 0.7% margin of victory in the 2022 election.The district is one of about a dozen in the national spotlight as Republica...

Pathways Alliance increasingly confident $16.5B carbon capture project will go ahead

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:35:18 GMT

CALGARY — The oilsands industry group that has proposed building what would be one of the world’s largest carbon capture and storage projects says it is more confident than ever it will go ahead with construction.The Pathways Alliance is a consortium of Canada’s largest oilsands companies, which have banded together to propose a $16.5 billion carbon capture and storage network to decrease emissions from oilsands sites in northern Alberta.The group hasn’t yet made a final investment decision but has spent about $80 million on preliminary engineering, design and environmental work.Last week, the federal government provided additional details about its promised carbon capture investment tax credit, including a timeline for its finalization.It also promised that up to $7 billion will be allocated to special contracts intended to give companies the confidence they need to make major investments to lower their greenhouse gas emissions.Pathways president Kendall Dilling s...

Roommates sue Maryland county over death of pet dog shot by police

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:35:18 GMT

Roommates who sued a Maryland county Monday claim police officers illegally entered their apartment without a warrant, detained them at gunpoint without justification and unnecessarily shot their pet dog, which was left paralyzed and ultimately euthanized.The dog, a boxer mix named Hennessey, did not attack the three officers who entered the apartment before two of them shot the animal with their firearms and the third fired a stun gun at it, according to the dog owners’ federal lawsuit.The lawsuit seeks at least $16 million in damages over the June, 2, 2021, encounter, which started with Prince George’s County police officers responding to a report of a dog bite at an apartment complex where the four plaintiffs lived. What happened next was captured on video from police body camera and a plaintiff’s cellphone.Two officers went to the plaintiffs’ apartment to look for the dogs reportedly involved in the biting incident. A maintenance worker gave police a mast...

As Mexico marks conservation day, advocates say it takes too long to list vulnerable species

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:35:18 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Residents of Mexico’s Caribbean reef island of Banco Chinchorro near Belize have hunted the meat and salmon-pink shells of queen conch for generations. As populations have shrunk in recent decades, Mexico has enforced limits and bans on catching the shellfish.The species has continued to decline despite these measures, which included a blanket five-year ban on catches in 2012. Still, the queen conch is one of many vulnerable species not included on Mexico’s national endangered species list. As Mexico’s environment agency celebrates the country’s biodiversity during Thursday’s national conservation day, conservationists say the government’s own registry for endangered species is too short and too slow to update.Despite a legal requirement to review and update the list at least every three years, there have been no updates since August 2019. In the meantime, species like the queen conch have lacked federal environmental protection and moved steadil...