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Theme parks bounce back

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:36 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. — Last year marked a return to normal for the theme park industry around the world with operators reporting revenues, and in some cases attendance, at par or above pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report.Globally, the theme park industry hit a peak in 2019, the year before the spread of the COVID-19 virus forced many parks and attractions to shut down temporarily and then reopen with restrictions on attendance.Many operators focused on improving visitor experiences through adapting app-based technologies and that paid off with revenues in 2022 that surpassed 2019 levels, even if attendance had not bounced back in the same way, according to the report released Wednesday by the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM, the design and engineering firm.“The pandemic revealed a sophisticated consumer base that is willing to pay more for out of home entertainment and experiences. However, consumers also demand more in terms of comfort, ease, quality, and satis...

Why not buy? Red Sox flaws can be addressed ahead of trade deadline

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:36 GMT

The Red Sox aren’t in a good place.They’re 34-35 and have spent most of the season last in the AL East. They came into Thursday five games out of the final American League Wild Card spot and have three teams to jump ahead of them. Two of their best players are hurt and likely won’t be back until at least late July or August, and they do not have an everyday shortstop on their active roster.And yet beneath that unflattering picture, the Red Sox might not be as far from contention as they look.This year’s Red Sox team is flawed, but it is flawed in specific, fixable ways. The club has played a lot of close games, and how many of those tight losses might have gone the other way if the Red Sox had gotten consistent play at shortstop, or if the starting pitching hadn’t been so erratic the first month and a half. Or if the defense in general had been better.We might be having a completely different conversation, so don’t the Red Sox owe it to themselves...

Twitter is the worst major social media platform when it comes to LGBTQ+ safety, says GLAAD

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:36 GMT

By BARBARA ORTUTAY (AP Technology Writer)SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — All major social media platforms do poorly at protecting LGBTQ+ users from hate speech and harassment — especially those who are transgender, non-binary or gender non-conforming, the advocacy group GLAAD said Thursday. But Twitter is the worst. In its annual Social Media Safety Index, GLAAD gave Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Twitter low or failing scores, saying the platforms don’t do enough to keep their users safe. That said, most improved from a year ago. Twitter, which was acquired by Tesla CEO Elon Musk last October, was the only exception. GLAAD’s scorecard called it “the most dangerous platform for LGBTQ people” and the only one that saw its scores decline from last year — to 33% from 45% a year ago.Twitter‘s communications staff was eradicated after Musk took over the company and for months inquiries to the press office have been answered only with an auto...

Jury awards $25.6M to fired white Starbucks manager 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:36 GMT

CAMDEN, N.J. — Jurors in federal court have awarded $25.6 million to a former Starbucks regional manager who alleged that she and other white employees were unfairly punished after the high-profile arrests of two Black men at a Philadelphia location in 2018.Shannon Phillips won $600,000 in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages on Monday after a jury in New Jersey found that race was a determinative factor in Phillips’ firing, in violation of federal and state anti-discrimination.In April 2018, a Philadelphia store manager called police on two Black men who were sitting in the coffee shop without ordering anything. Phillips, then regional manager of operations in Philadelphia, southern New Jersey, and elsewhere, was not involved with arrests. However, she said she was ordered to put a white manager who also wasn’t involved on administrative leave for reasons she knew were false, according to her lawsuit.Phillips said she was fired less than a month late...

A new cannabis-friendly Las Vegas hotel navigates through Nevada’s rules

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:36 GMT

Richard N. Velotta and McKenna Ross | Las Vegas Review-Journal (TNS)LAS VEGAS — Two days before The Lexi Hotel on Sahara Avenue was scheduled to open to guests and a day before people were invited to an opening reception, Elevations Hotels and Resorts CEO Alex Rizk was nervous.Much of the old furniture that was used in the Artisan Hotel, the former name of the 64-room property, was sitting in the hotel’s parking lot and Rizk was promised a shipment of new furniture that day – though he wasn’t sure if it was going to arrive on time.But it did.The evening soiree went as planned and when the day came, people began checking into their rooms of what is billed as Las Vegas’ first cannabis-friendly lodging.“At some point, you’re forced to accept the fact that everything won’t be perfect for the first 60 to 90 days, but we’ll still do our best to open up with what we have,” Rizk said in an interview during a media preview of the hotel’s opening.Rizk said his new fixtures were ordered, bough...

A Vermont man charged with killing his mother at sea over inheritance dies awaiting trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:36 GMT

By LISA RATHKE and DAVE COLLINS (Associated Press)The Vermont man charged with killing his mother off the coast of New England in a scheme to inherit millions of dollars has died in jail while awaiting trial, federal authorities said Thursday. Nathan Carman, 29, pleaded not guilty last year to fraud and first-degree murder in the death of his mother, Linda Carman, and was scheduled to go on trial in October.An eight-count indictment also says Carman shot and killed his wealthy grandfather John Chakalos as he slept in 2013, in order to obtain money and property from his grandfather’s estate. But the indictment does not charge Carman with his grandfather’s killing, and he had consistently denied any involvement in the two deaths.The cause of Carman’s death was not immediately clear. He was the sole occupant of a county jail cell when guards found him dead at around 2:30 a.m., said Doug Losue, superintendent of the Cheshire Corrections Department, which runs the facil...

FDA advisers endorse updating COVID vaccines to target latest omicron strain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:36 GMT

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MIKE STOBBE (AP Medical Writers)The COVID-19 vaccines are on track for a big recipe change this fall.Today’s vaccines still contain the original coronavirus strain, the one that started the pandemic — even though that was long ago supplanted by mutated versions as the virus rapidly evolves.Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration’s scientific advisers said the next round of shots in the U.S. should only include protection against the newest variants that are now dominant worldwide — a branch of the omicron family tree named XBB.The FDA will make the final decision. Vaccine makers said during the meeting that they could have updated vaccines available within months, depending on the strain.While infections have declined, the virus could be a real concern next winter, FDA’s vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said as the daylong meeting began.“We’re concerned that we may have another wave of COVID-19 during a time when the ...

Fourth of July recipe: Grilled Jalapeno, Corn and Idaho Potato Salad

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:36 GMT

Jessica Yadegaran | The Mercury NewsThis recipe from NeighborFood blogger Courtney Rowlands and the Idaho Potato Commission is the stuff of smoky barbecue dreams.The secret to this epic potato salad is in the drizzle. You drizzle reserved bacon grease on the vegetables — corn, jalapenos and red onions — before grilling them, then mix everything together with a creamy, cilantro-based dressing. You’ll never go back to store-bought again.———GRILLED JALAPENO, CORN AND IDAHO POTATO SALADServes 6 to 8Ingredients:1/2 pound bacon2 pounds Idaho red potatoes, cut into wedges or bite-sized chunks2 jalapeños, seeded and choppedKernels cut from 2 ears of corn1/2 red onion, choppedSalt and pepperDressing:3/4 cup sour cream1/4 cup mayonnaise1/4 cup cilantro, plus more to garnish1 jalapeño, seeded and roughly choppedJuice of 1 lime1 teaspoon honey2 teaspoons minced garlicDirections:Heat the grill over medium-high heat (400 to 425 degrees Fahrenheit).In a skillet on the stove, cook the bacon until c...

Losing value: Housing slowdown leads to first equity drop since 2012

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:36 GMT

LOS ANGELES — For the first time in more than a decade, the average U.S. homeowner with a mortgage has less home equity than they did a year earlier.Among the roughly 63% of U.S. homes with a mortgage, average homeowner equity per borrower was $274,070 in the first quarter, down 1.9% from the same quarter last year, according to real estate data tracker CoreLogic.The last time average homeowner equity fell year-over-year was in the first quarter of 2012, when the housing market was still regaining its footing after the mortgage meltdown and ensuing foreclosure crisis that helped trigger the Great Recession.All told, U.S. homeowners with a mortgage lost a combined $108.4 billion in home equity between the first quarter of last year and the first three months of 2023, a drop of 0.7%, according to CoreLogic.Massachusetts is one of 13 states that showed a drop, according to the data, with a reduction of $2,000 year-over-year for the period ending with the first quarter. The average drop...

U.S. attorney general to visit Minneapolis for ‘civil rights matter’ announcement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:36 GMT

By STEVE KARNOWSKI and JIM SALTER (Associated Press)MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two years after the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department following the killing of George Floyd, Attorney General Merrick Garland is visiting Minneapolis to make an announcement in “a civil rights matter.”Justice Department and city officials declined on Thursday to confirm that Friday’s news conference at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis is to announce findings of that police department investigation. But a Justice Department advisory said Garland will be joined by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Police Chief Brian O’Hara and others. Also, a link to a Justice Department public webinar scheduled for Friday afternoon has the heading, “DOJ Presentation for MPD Investigative Findings.”The “pattern or practice” investigation was launched in April 2021, a day after former officer Derek Chauvin was convicted o...