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State set to announce deep cuts to transportation agencies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

Maryland’s Department of Transportation is facing billions in cuts to address shortfalls that will squeeze operations and construction budgets.State officials spent the better part of this week briefing lawmakers and local leaders on an 8% across-the-board cut to all the agencies within the Maryland Department of Transportation.The Department of Transportation, in a statement responding to questions about the cuts and an expected public announcement next week, blamed the troubles on flagging revenues used to support road and transit projects.“During a period when families are still feeling the effects of inflation, it’s incumbent on state government to take a balanced approach that tightens its belt while still making strategic investments in the future,” the department said in a statement. “The Moore-Miller Administration has been clear about the challenging budget shortfalls facing Maryland that have long been forecasted to take place. The depths of those structural problems only ...

Klesmit’s fast start, Wisconsin’s rebounding helps Badgers beat No. 3 Marquette 75-64

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Max Klesmit scored all 21 of his points before halftime, Steven Crowl added 16 and Wisconsin capitalized on its rebounding superiority to beat No. 3 Marquette 75-64 on Saturday.Wisconsin (6-2) beat Marquette (6-2) for a third straight season in this in-state rivalry between schools separated by just 79 miles. This marks the first three-game winning streak for either team in the 130-game series since the Badgers won four straight from 1998-2001.After trailing by 16 in the closing seconds of the first half, Marquette went on a 17-2 run to get the margin down to one with 14:46 left in the game. But the Golden Eagles never could grab the lead and failed to make a basket for more than seven minutes at one point in the second half, enabling Wisconsin to regain its double-digit advantage.Marquette cut the lead to 67-62 on a Tyler Kolek 3-pointer with 3:52 left, but the Golden Eagles got no closer the rest of the way.Kam Jones scored 19 and Kolek added 11 for Marquette....

McKneely, Beekman power Virginia’s 84-62 win over Syracuse in ACC opener

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Isaac McKneely scored 22 points, Reece Beekman added 13 points with eight assists, and hot-shooting Virginia defeated Syracuse 84-62 in an ACC opener on Saturday.McKneely was 8-for-11 shooting, making 6-of-8 3-pointers, and grabbed five rebounds. Andrew Rohde added 10 points, four assists and three rebounds. Virginia shot 54.5% for the game and made 12 of 21 3-pointers (57.1%).The Cavaliers (7-1) hit eight 3-pointers in the first 12 1/2 minutes of the second half, pushing a 13-point halftime lead to 33 points, 75-42. The Orange struggled from 3-point distance in the second half, making only 2 of 12, but a 10-0 run over a 3-minute stretch helped cut their deficit to 22 points by game’s end.JJ Starling led Syracuse (5-3) with 16 points and Maliq Brown added 10. Syracuse shot 40.7% overall and 5-for-20 on 3-pointers.Judah Mintz, who leads Syracuse in scoring this season (20.4ppg coming in), was held to five points after going for a career-high 33 again...

More than 700 flights cancelled as southern Germany sees heavy snowfall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

(CNN) — Around 760 flights were cancelled at Munich Airport on Saturday due to heavy snowfall, an airport spokesperson told CNN.Buses, trams, and some train services in Munich were also suspended due to the snow, according to Munich’s public transport company.Munich’s central train station was closed for arrivals, while long-distance services have been suspended entirely, according to Germany’s national railway company Deutsche Bahn.Deutsche Bahn warned that rail traffic would be “impacted severely” until Monday.Germany’s regional Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that huge numbers of travellers have been left stranded at Munich’s main station.“I’ve been sitting here in this place since one o’clock in the morning,” one passenger told the publication, while another said: “We just want to know if there’s still a chance of getting out of here.”Police on Saturday asked people in Munich not to use their cars unless absolutely necessary, while resid...

No. 17 UNC uses 22-point run to erase 14-point hole and beat Florida State 78-70 in ACC opener

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — RJ Davis scored 27 points and No. 17 North Carolina ran off 22 unanswered points in the second half to rally past Florida State 78-70 on Saturday in both teams’ Atlantic Coast Conference opener.Armando Bacot added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Tar Heels (7-1, 1-0), who trailed by 14 early after the break after managing just one field goal over nearly 11 minutes of game action. But on a day when the Tar Heels struggled to make outside shots, UNC found its jolt with fullcourt pressure that took the Seminoles out of sync and forced turnovers while providing some needed zip.That drove up the pace of play, and finally the Tar Heels started giving their home crowd a reason to roar.Seth Trimble’s transition layup finally tied it at 56-all, then freshman Elliot Cadeau followed with the go-ahead layup at the 7:24 mark. UNC stayed on the attack, getting two and-1 scores among five made free throws. And then there were the baskets coming off FSU miscues...

26 kids were buried alive in California. A new CNN Film shows how one plotted their escape – and what happened years later

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

(CNN) — In 1976, gunmen stormed a school bus carrying 26 children – ages 5 to 14 – and their bus driver in Chowchilla, California. As part of a ransom plot, they drove the hostages into a rock quarry and forced them into what could have become a mass grave: a moving van soon to be covered with 6 feet of dirt.Almost 50 years on, those students have become unwitting pioneers in what child trauma can look like decades later. Now, the new CNN Film, “Chowchilla,” delves into how the largest mass kidnapping in US history became a catalyst for change.There’s the 14-year-old hero who devised a cunning escape to free the hostages – but didn’t get due credit and spiraled down a dark chasm of substance abuse.There’s the 10-year-old girl who comforted other terrified kids, then spent decades confronting the kidnappers at parole hearings until the agony became too much to bear.And there’s the 6-year-old boy who fought relentless nightmares and all-encompassing anger before finding unexpecte...

No. 8 Hurricanes open ACC play with balanced 62-49 win over Notre Dame

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — The offense wasn’t great. The defense was, and No. 8 Miami started Atlantic Coast Conference play with a grind-it-out win.Matthew Cleveland scored 14 points, Norchad Omier and Nijel Pack each added 13 and the Hurricanes beat Notre Dame 62-49 on Saturday in the ACC opener for both teams.It was the first time Miami (6-1, 1-0) held a team under 50 points since a 46-44 loss to Virginia on March 4, 2020. And it was only the sixth time in its last 355 games that Notre Dame (3-4, 0-1) was held under 50 points, going back to Feb. 9, 2013.“There’s been so much preseason hype because of the last two seasons,” Miami coach Jim Larrañaga said. “There’s been high expectation, which is great, but that’s on paper. It doesn’t win any games. You’ve got to play the game and you’ve got to play the opponent. I knew this game would be a much slower pace, much lower scoring.”The Hurricanes — the only men’s team in the country to make the ...

Youth football teams from Dixmoor and Robbins raise funds for Florida trips and eye national championships

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

When the Robbins Eagles youth football organization was founded in 1983, it was seen as a way to “give kids something to do and to give them the chance we didn’t have,” according to Bernard Ward, who helped start the program.Now, on the 40th anniversary of the team’s founding, the Eagles will play on the national stage as the team advances to the American Youth Football League championship in Naples, Florida.“They are going to represent the whole Midwest,” Ward said at a pep rally Tuesday. “It’s the best investment we ever made.”They will be in Florida at the same time as the Dixmoor Vikings are fielding two teams vying for the title in the Pop Warner Super Bowl in Orlando.Vikings coach Dwayne Tyson will bring a team that came in second at last year’s competition, falling shy of the title primarily because he and some other coaches and players came down with the flu at the last minute.“We had big expectations from the...

Teen girls are being victimized by deepfake nudes across the country

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

A mother and her 14-year-old daughter are advocating for better protections for victims after AI-generated nude images of the teen and other female classmates were circulated at a high school in New Jersey.Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, officials are investigating an incident involving a teenage boy who allegedly used artificial intelligence to create and distribute similar images of other students — also teen girls — that attend a high school in suburban Seattle, Washington.The disturbing cases have put a spotlight yet again on explicit AI-generated material that overwhelmingly harms women and children and is booming online at an unprecedented rate. According to an analysis by independent researcher Genevieve Oh that was shared with the Associated Press, more than 143,000 new deepfake videos were posted online this year, which surpasses every other year combined.Desperate for solutions, affected families are pushing lawmakers to implement robust safeguards for victims...

Patriots rookie Malik Cunningham primed for game-day role after elevation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:53 GMT

Patriots fans itching to see how undrafted rookie Malik Cunningham can boost the team’s struggling offense will get their wish Sunday.The Patriots elevated Cunningham from the practice squad to the gameday roster on Saturday afternoon. Cunningham, who’s played quarterback, wide receiver and special teams with the Patriots, will revert back to the practice squad on Monday.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | NFL Notes: How will we remember the Mac Jones era in New England? New England Patriots | Four Patriots who should take on bigger roles vs. Chargers in Week 13 New England Patriots | Patriots new starting QB must depend on cast of disappointing receivers New England Patriots | Patriots-Chargers injury report: Keenan Allen questionable, two Pats WRs out New England Patriots | Patriots missing two WRs at final practice before Chargers game This will be Cunningham’s second game on the ...