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What if public transit was like Uber? A small city ended its bus service to find out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:04:31 GMT

When a small city abruptly parked all its buses to launch a publicly subsidized van service offering $1.50 trips anywhere in town, only one of its bus drivers — a big-city transplant — went along for the ride.Milton Barnes used to oversee packed subway stations in Washington, D.C., a far cry from the sparsely filled buses he drove after moving to Wilson, North Carolina, to care for his elderly parents. Although transit ridership plummeted almost everywhere due to the pandemic, it has been surging in Wilson since its September 2020 switch from a fixed-route system to an on-demand one powered by a smartphone app.“All day long I’m picking up people and dropping them off,” Barnes, 59, the only driver to work under both systems, said while driving his van on a typically busy morning. “When you’ve got door-to-door, corner-to-corner service, it’s going to be more popular.”Long wait times made the bus route almost unusable for David Bunn, even when his car broke down and he couldn’t a...

Republican presidential hopefuls generally overlook New Hampshire in effort to blunt Trump in Iowa

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:04:31 GMT

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Once upon a time, the moderates, the mavericks and the underdogs in presidential politics had a chance to break through in New Hampshire.Former Sen. John McCain, an independent-minded Republican, resurrected his anemic campaign with a victory in the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary in 2008. Bill Clinton, a centrist Democrat from Arkansas, became the “comeback kid” by exceeding expectations here in 1992. And little-known Georgia peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter, would go on to claim the presidency after winning the state’s 1976 Democratic primary.But this year, New Hampshire’s primary tradition may be little more than a fairy tale as the presidential field largely overlooks the Granite State.Democratic officials, who have rallied behind President Joe Biden, have already decided to bypass New Hampshire in favor of South Carolina. And the crowded Republican field is focusing its money, time and attention on Iowa, betting big that the...

Poland shaken by reports consular officials took bribes to help migrants enter Europe and US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:04:31 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s conservative governing party was hoping to make migration a key campaign theme ahead of the country’s national election. But not like this.The Law and Justice party is being rocked by reports that Polish consulates issued visas in Africa and Asia in exchange for bribes, opening the door for migrants to enter the European Union — which some used as a launching pad to enter the United States.Details about the corruption scandal are coming to light a month ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections Oct. 15, leaving Law and Justice struggling to control the damage. On Friday, a former deputy foreign minister who was dismissed amid reports of his involvement was hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt.Law and Justice has been the election frontrunner in a field of several parties, and it’s not clear if the affair will dent its support. But opposition politicians have seized on the issue, accusing the government of corruption and hypocrisy, ...

Texas high school football scores for Friday, Sept. 15

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:04:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Round Rock scored 10 points in the final 1:10 to top Westwood 24-21 in the Battle for the Bell on Friday at the Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex.Round Rock running back Moose Garlington punched in a 3-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21-21, and the Dragons quickly put Westwood in a punting situation with 0:33 left. Round Rock came after the punt and blocked it to take over at the Warriors' 18-yard line.REPORT YOUR SCORE: We'd love to post your team's score on our website, but we need your help to do it. Email the score of your game to [email protected] and we'll get it on our websiteWith 0:10 left, Round Rock kicker Kai Haruki nailed a 39-yard field goal that ended up being the game-winning score and the first win of the season for the Dragons.In other action around the area, Weiss stayed undefeated following a wild 52-50 win over New Braunfels at The Pfield. Rouse took out Liberty Hill 28-17 and Bastrop topped Pflugerville in overtime 48-42. That game was played in Smit...

1 killed, another hospitalized in South Los Angeles shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:04:31 GMT

A shooting left one person dead and another hospitalized in South Los Angeles on Friday night.The shooting took place outside of a Bank of America near Broadway Street and Manchester Avenue around 7:30 p.m., according to Los Angeles police.Arriving officers found a 30-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A second victim, a woman, was found with a gunshot wound on her leg. She was transported to a local hospital for treatment.One person was killed and another was hospitalized after a shooting in South Los Angeles on Sept. 15, 2023. (OnScene.TV)One person was killed and another was hospitalized after a shooting in South Los Angeles on Sept. 15, 2023. (OnScene.TV)One person was killed and another was hospitalized after a shooting in South Los Angeles on Sept. 15, 2023. (OnScene.TV)One person was killed and another was hospitalized after a shooting in South Los Angeles on Sept. 15, 2023. (OnScene.TV)One person was killed and another wa...

Suspects break into San Bernardino home, police find them sleeping

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:04:31 GMT

A man and woman were arrested after they broke into a San Bernardino home and were found sleeping inside on Friday morning.At 7:18 a.m., San Bernardino deputies responded to a report of a residential burglary in the 600 block of West 41st Street. The homeowner contacted police after his surveillance camera revealed two people breaking into his home. When officers arrived, they found the suspects, 35-year-old Andre Eugene Maloy and 44-year-old Natasha Ann Segura, sleeping inside the home. Surveillance video footage showed Maloy surveying the home before throwing a rock through the front window and then entering. Police found that the surveillance cameras had also been disconnected and vandalized. According to the homeowner, the damages caused to the window and surveillance cameras were approximately $1,000.Maloy and Segura were arrested for three felony charges, conspiracy to commit a crime, vandalism, and burglary. They were both booked at the Central Detention Center.

Three juveniles charged in Oakland school shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:04:31 GMT

OAKLAND – Three juveniles are facing charges in connection with a shooting at Skyline High School on Sept. 5, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.One is charged with assault with a firearm, a second with being a minor in possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school and carrying a loaded weapon in public, and a third with being a minor in possession of a firearm, prosecutors said in a statement.Prosecutors said the juveniles made their first appearances in court and remain in custody.The county probation department will conduct assessments of the juveniles and make recommendations to the judge assigned to the case, prosecutors said. The district attorney’s office will also make recommendations before the judge rules on the consequences.In the statement, prosecutors noted that “state law mandates juvenile justice focus on rehabilitation, with consequences focused on the support the individual needs to prevent them from re-offending.”The shooting hap...

Teenage sensation Roman Anthony rocketing through Red Sox system

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:04:31 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine — When the Red Sox drafted Roman Anthony last summer they saw a tremendous athlete who they believed could develop into a franchise cornerstone, the kind of power-hitting center fielder every franchise dreams of finding.Since then, Anthony’s shown he can be all of that and more.Less than two years removed from playing high school baseball in Florida, Roman Anthony is now among the fastest-rising prospects in all of baseball. The 19-year-old outfielder has rocketed through the Red Sox ranks and recently became the first teenager to reach Double-A Portland since Xander Bogaerts in 2012.Now nearing the end of his first full season of professional baseball, Anthony said his experience with the Red Sox so far has been everything he could have hoped for.“It’s awesome. It’s great to be in an organization that gives you credit, sees what you’re doing every day and sees you’re putting in the work off the field as well as on the field,”...

Man sentenced in deadly Old Town freight train push

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:04:31 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A 27-year-old man was sentenced to 15 years-to-life in prison after pushing an elderly man into a freight train at the Old Town Transit Station, prosecutors said Friday.On New Year's Day in 2022, Martin Andara was on his way to work in the morning at a Ralph's supermarket in Pacific Beach exiting the trolley and walking toward a connecting bus at the station when Ryan Rukstelis suddenly attacked Andara for no reason, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a news release. Rukstelis could be seen on surveillance camera punching the 68-year-old man and then pushing him directly into a freight train that was moving past them.Andara died from severe head trauma. Woman dead in fall at US-Mexico border “This random, chilling attack took the life of a man who was loved by his family, friends and colleagues,” Stephan said. “It is a tragic case that was solved by excellent police work and brought to justice by the Elder Abuse Unit in our office.”During the i...

Dozens of Syrians are among the missing in catastrophic floods in Libya, a war monitor says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:04:31 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian dentist, a confectioner who made mouthwatering Arabic sweets, a carpenter. Syrians from all walks of life had left their war-torn country for the Libyan city of Derna over the past years, looking for work and better opportunities. Now, dozens of them are missing and feared dead after Mediterranean storm Daniel unleashed catastrophic flooding that tore through the coastal city on Sunday night, wreaking destruction and washing entire neighborhoods out to sea. The death toll has eclipsed 11,000 and more than 10,000 are missing. Five days on, searchers are still digging through mud and hollowed-out buildings in Derna, looking for bodies.According to a war monitoring group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 42 Syrians have been confirmed dead in Libya while the real number could be as high as 150. The victims include both Syrians who were living and working in Libya long term, and Syrian migrants who were using Libya as a transit point in effor...