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Cherish the final summer at Union Market Drive-In before condos take replace the parking lot in Northeast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:51 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews the final Union Market Drive-In (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); Joni Mitchell famously lamented in her song “Big Yellow Taxi” that “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”The Drive-In at Union Market laments the loss of its parking lot paradise for condos.“This is the 11th year of the drive-in and I fear it might be the last,”...

Labour frontbencher suggests aide in harassment case should lose job

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:51 GMT

LONDON — A Labour adviser allowed to keep their job despite an investigation finding he sexually harassed a young intern should be sacked, shadow cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds suggested Thursday.POLITICO reported Wednesday that a party aide advising a senior opposition politician will remain in post despite a complaint against him being upheld twice — by parliamentary investigators and, separately, by Labour after a probe which ran for three years. The move has sparked an outcry among prominent women in the party.Pressed on whether the adviser should lose their job Thursday, Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds stressed that he did not “know the details of this case” and would caution against going “off what’s in the press.” He stressed that Labour’s complaints process “removes any kind of political factor or any kind of political consideration from the process.”But he warned that any Labour figure found to have groped an intern should lose their job.“I d...

Airlines should compensate delayed passengers if a co-pilot dies, says EU top court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:51 GMT

Airlines should be forced to pay compensation for a canceled flight when a co-pilot dies, the EU’s top court ruled Thursday.The death of a co-pilot is “like any unexpected illness which may affect a crew member whose presence is essential,” and is “inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the airline,” according to the Court of Justice of the EU. Under EU rules, airlines can refuse to pay compensation to travelers if a flight was canceled due to “extraordinary circumstances.” What counts as “extraordinary” is not defined within the rules, although it’s generally considered to be events outside of the airline’s control, such as a terrorist attack.The case, which was sent to EU judges from Stuttgart’s regional court, involves a 2019 flight to Lisbon put on by Portuguese airline TAP, which was due to take off at 6:05 a.m. from Stuttgart.At 4:15 a.m. that morning, the co-pilot was found dead in his hotel bed. The flight was canceled after the shoc...

EU news website Euractiv acquired by publisher Mediahuis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:51 GMT

European media group Mediahuis has acquired the Brussels-based EU news website Euractiv, the two organizations announced Thursday. Mediahuis owns newspapers and media brands in Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg and Germany. This includes major national papers De Standaard (Belgium), the Irish Independent and NRC Handelsblad (Netherlands). The acquisition is a bid to become “one of Europe’s media champions,” Christophe Leclercq, the founder of Euractiv, said in a press release.“Euractiv has succeeded in building a promising news brand and has become a trusted source of information for EU policymakers, interest groups and other media,” said Gert Ysebaert, chief executive officer of Mediahuis.

Firefighter uninjured after falling through floor while battling blaze in Arlington

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:51 GMT

A mayday call was sent out after a firefighter fell through the floor as crews battled a raging, multi-alarm blaze that ripped through a building in Arlington late Wednesday night.That firefighter managed to escape injury and continue working to extinguish the flames in the mixed-use building on Dudley Street. There was no one inside the building when the fire broke out.Crews continued to work early into the morning to identify hot spots.The cause of the fire remains under investigation. No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

COVID-19 public health emergency ends in Massachusetts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:51 GMT

The COVID-19 public health emergency in Massachusetts will end on Thursday, the same day the federal government’s emergency order is set to expire. The end of the public health emergency will mean individuals will no longer have to wear a mask in hospitals or other health care settings.While the emergency is ending, officials from the state Department of Public Health have said it is still important for people to understand how to protect themselves from COVID-19 in the future. “People should continue to look around their communities and understand how they can protect themselves in the ways that they may want to layer in prevention strategies like masks and testing,” said DPH Commissioner Robert Goldstein. Gov. Maura Healey announced in March that she would lift the state’s modified public health emergency on May 11 to match the day the federal emergency ends. 

The Orioles’ ability to beat baseball’s best teams shows they are one of them | ANALYSIS

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:51 GMT

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde doesn’t want to overanalyze his team’s early-season schedule. In fact, he won’t ever dive too deep into the 162-game slate. His focus is on the series directly in front of Baltimore, and he knows there are many more of those to be played.“We have a long way to go,” he said earlier this week.But as the quarter pole of the 2023 season approaches, it’s clear Hyde is managing one of the best teams in baseball. The Orioles capitalized on a soft early schedule in getting off to a strong start, but the past week has shown that their record, the third best in the sport, is no mirage.Facing the only two teams with better marks than theirs, the Orioles (24-13) went 3-3 with a plus-3 run differential, dropping two one-run games at the National League-best Atlanta Braves (25-12) before bouncing back from a series-opening loss — their first of the year — to the Tampa Bay Rays (29-9) with consecutive narrow victories at ...

How Europe is at the forefront of building artificial intelligence guardrails

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Authorities around the world are racing to draw up rules for artificial intelligence, including in the European Union, where draft legislation faced a pivotal moment on Thursday. A European Parliament committee voted to strengthen the flagship legislative proposal as it heads toward passage, part of a yearslong effort by Brussels to draw up guardrails for artificial intelligence. Those efforts have taken on more urgency as the rapid advances of chatbots like ChatGPT highlight benefits the emerging technology can bring — and the new perils it poses.Here’s a look at the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act: HOW DO THE RULES WORK? The AI Act, first proposed in 2021, will govern any product or service that uses an artificial intelligence system. The act will classify AI systems according to four levels of risk, from minimal to unacceptable. Riskier applications will face tougher requirements, including being more transparent and using accurate data. Think about it ...

Police: 24 people, many of them children, hurt in bridge collapse in Finland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:51 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Two dozen people, many of them schoolchildren, were injured when a temporary pedestrian bridge collapsed in the southern Finnish city of Espoo on Thursday, police and media said.Police said the bridge crossing a construction site in Espoo’s Tapiola region collapsed mid-morning. No one was killed, but 24 people were injured, 10 of them seriously. Espoo is a neighboring city of the capital, Helsinki.“Several people fell a few meters when the bridge collapsed. The situation is being investigated,” police said in a statement.Police are conducting a technical investigation in the area and the possible causes for the accident are being probed.The Associated Press

German rail workers union announces 50-hour strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:51 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A German labor union is calling for railway workers to stage a 50-hour strike early next week to bolster its calls for an inflation-related pay raise.The EVG rail workers union called for its 230,000 members to walk off the job from 10 p.m. on Sunday evening until midnight on Tuesday. The walkout will affect around 50 companies that provide rail services.Pay negotiations between EVG and German railway companies have been underway since February. EVG is seeking a raise of 12% for its members.This longer strike “increases the pressure significantly, because the employers leave us no other choice,” said Kristian Loroch, EVG’s lead negotiator, according to the news agency dpa.Deutsche Bahn personnel chief Martin Seiler called the strike “completely unreasonable.”“Instead of looking for compromises, the EVG wants to paralyze the country for an unbelievable 50 hours,” he said in a statement Thursday morning. “Millions of travelers are not getting where they want to go,...