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‘Loki’s’ latest variant is still a pretty good way to kill time

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:25:50 GMT

(CNN) — “Loki” didn’t deliver unqualified magic, but the Disney+ series was weird and inventive enough to cast a spell over fans, while introducing controversial actor Jonathan Majors’ mysterious villain into the Marvel universe. Returning after Majors’ theatrical debut in the less-than-scintillating “Ant-Man” sequel, the second season of “Loki” feels more assured and focused if still decidedly out-there, all while toting around its fair share of baggage.It was a bit of a jolt when “Loki” concluded on a cliffhanger in 2021, leaving the story of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his new posse at the Time Variance Authority unfinished. While trying to explain what’s at stake requires a whole lot of time, suffice it to say the complications associated with alternate branches of reality continue, leaving Loki and Mobius (Owen Wilson) frantically seeking to avoid a “temporal meltdown” that would be very, very bad.As they endeavor to save the TVA, the pair acquire some new allies in this second s...

GM, Ford lay off 500 more workers, blaming strike

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:25:50 GMT

New York (CNN) — General Motors and Ford are laying off 500 additional workers between them, blaming the expansion of the strike announced by the United Auto Workers union at those companies on Friday.General Motors said it was laying off 164 workers at stamping plants in Parma, Ohio, and Marion, Indiana. Those plants normally send their stamped metal parts to the assembly lines that have been shut by the strike – the plants in Wentzville, Ohio, and the Lansing Delta Assembly plant in Lansing, Michigan. Among the vehicles made at those plants are Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups and the Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave pickups.Most of the workers in Parma and Marion will continue to stay on the job, though, producing stamping for other plants, as most GM assembly lines continue to operate.“We have said repeatedly that nobody wins in a strike, and this is yet another demonstration of that fact,” said GM’s statement. “We will continue to bargain in good faith with the u...

Trio wins Nobel Prize in chemistry for work on quantum dots, used in electronics and medical imaging

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:25:50 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Three scientists based in the U.S. won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their work on quantum dots — tiny particles just a few atoms in diameter that can release very bright colored light and whose applications in every day life include electronics and medical imaging.Moungi Bawendi, of MIT; Louis Brus, of Columbia University; and Alexei Ekimov, of Nanocrystals Technology Inc., were honored for their work with the particles that “have unique properties and now spread their light from television screens and LED lamps,” according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which announced the award in Stockholm.“They catalyze chemical reactions and their clear light can illuminate tumor tissue for a surgeon,” the academy said.Quantum dots’ electrons have constrained movement, which affects how they absorb and release visible light, allowing for very bright colors.The dots are nanoparticles that glow blue, red, or green when illuminated or expos...

‘If it’s orange and black, it goes’: As postseason excitement rises, vintage Orioles merch is everywhere

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:25:50 GMT

It happened slowly, and then all at once. You walk through Baltimore and everywhere you look, there’s a swath of orange and black.It’s in the hats and jerseys fans are wearing on the way to Camden Yards. It’s in the jackets and T-shirts people have on as they run errands or go to bars, restaurants and coffee shops.The city is dressed with pride for its playoff-bound Orioles.With the team going to the postseason for the first time since 2016 and winning the American League East for the first time since 2014, Baltimore residents are showing how much they ride for their winning team.But it’s not just the jerseys of the young stars leading this year’s club or the shirts announcing the division win that have taken hold. Vintage Orioles merchandise has been in high demand as fans look for unique and affordable ways to show their pride as they attend more games than usual.“If it’s orange and black, it goes,” said Arvay Adams, the owne...

OBF: Celtics in position to own Boston with less talk, 18th banner

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:25:50 GMT

It’s time for the Celtics to put up and shut up.No, this is not a demand to stick to sports.We’re fine with Jaylen Brown wanting to change the world.The whole Kanye thing, not so much.But Brown has a “role model” vibe that would make any NBA franchise proud. Jayson Tatum, turns out, is a cinephile. Get him on the red carpet at the Oscars.Check the audio breakdown of his new “FILM” tattoo that aired on “Toucher and Rich” Tuesday.The “shut up” here is a direct plea to stop complaining about every other whistle.End the in-game melodrama.Get back on defense.Focus on Tommy Awards, not Tony Awards.The inability of NBA officials to keep up with some of the world’s best athletes at full speed isundeniable.The bottom line in 2023: Professional athletes are going to get hosed by officials.Sauce Gardner may never recover from what happened to the Jets on Monday night.Any fan with an iPhone and high-speed internet can share video of a missed call to millions onsocial media before the end of the...

Howie Carr: We could use a government shutdown

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:25:50 GMT

Thank goodness the federal government didn’t “shut down.”Think about it — if the U.S. government wasn’t operating for even a few days, think of the terrible consequences for all the foreign freeloaders flopping amongst us.Just ask Vinicius Santana, age 35, born in Brazil and then shipped off to a life of leisure in Revere. After his multi-million-dollar heist from Uncle Sam, Vinicius took on the lam to Boca Raton with his ill-gotten gains.If anyone can speak to the incredible beneficence of Uncle Sam, it would be Vinicius Santana, even from his new home in Club Fed.Vinicius is (thus far) the biggest scam artist convicted in Massachusetts of stealing federal COVID welfare funds under the Payroll Protection Program (PPP).PPP is the fraudulent scam welfare program that the feds set up in 2020 after the Red Chinese unleased the Wuhan Red Death on the world.If there was no federal government, there would be no PPP. And there would be no millionaire criminals like Vinicius Santana.H...

Japan hopes to resolve China’s seafood ban over Fukushima’s wastewater release within WTO’s scope

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:25:50 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Japan hopes to resolve China’s ban on its seafood following the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant within the World Trade Organization’s scope, Agriculture Minister Ichiro Miyashita said Wednesday. Despite repeated assurances, China banned seafood from Japan immediately after the plant began its treated radioactive wastewater release in August. Seafood accounts for a small portion of Japan’s overall trade but the ban has hit exporters hard as China was the top destination for Japanese seafood exports.The Japanese government approved a 20.7-billion-yen ($141-million) emergency fund in September to help seafood exporters find new markets and to fund government purchases of seafood for temporary freezing and storage. The country is also stepping up efforts to ease safety concerns as a second round of wastewater discharge is set to begin Thursday.Miyashita said Japan’s vigorous monitoring since the...

A bus plummeted 15 meters from an elevated road in Venice, killing 21 people in a fiery crash

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:25:50 GMT

VENICE (AP) — A bus carrying dozens of people plummeted 15 meters (50 feet) from an elevated road in Venice, Italy, causing a fiery crash that killed 21 people and injured at least 15, mostly foreign tourists returning to a nearby campsite. Those who died in the Tuesday night crash included at least five Ukrainians, one German citizen and the man who was driving the bus, according to Venice prefecture. At least two of the dead were children, Venice prefect Michele Di Bari said, adding that many of the people involved in the accident were “young.” Nine people were in critical condition, hospital officials said late Wednesday morning, including a 3-year-old girl from Ukraine.Firefighters worked until dawn Wednesday to clear the wreckage. Later in the morning, traffic was slowly passing the spot where the bus burst through a guardrail and a rusted fence.Passersby stopped to contemplate the accident. A couple of locals said that the overpass was more than 60 years old and that nothing s...

Suspect in Bangkok mall shooting that killed 2 used a modified blank-firing handgun, police say

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:25:50 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The teenage boy who allegedly shot two people dead and wounded five others inside a major shopping mall in the center of Thailand’s capital used a blank-firing handgun that had been modified to fire real bullets, police said Wednesday.The suspect was taken into custody less than an hour after the first gunshots Tuesday afternoon at the Siam Paragon Mall, one of Bangkok’s biggest and most upscale shopping destinations.Video on social media showed a long-haired teenage boy in the custody of police. Major Thai media reported he was 14 years old and a student at a Bangkok private school. Recently appointed Police Chief Torsak Sukvimol said the suspect had a record of being treated for mental illness and gave an incoherent account of his actions to police after his arrest, claiming that voices told him what to do.Police on Wednesday declined to provide more personal details about the boy, citing privacy laws and legal procedures covering children aged 15 years or you...

GO Transit rail service resumes following network outage; some delays expected

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:25:50 GMT

Metrolinx says GO train service has mostly resumed after a network outage caused major problems for commuters on Tuesday.GO, VIA and the UP Express were all expected to return to their regular schedules on Wednesday morning, with some possible delays, after an internet crash at CN Rail shut down the track signal system during the afternoon and evening rush.“We intend to run our full and regular train service,” reads a statement from Metrolinx. “However, there could still be some residual delays and modifications as we move our trains and crews back into place.”Despite the message from the crown agency, some trips were modified or cancelled during the Wednesday morning rush. On the Stouffville line, the 8:16 a.m. train from Old Elm GO to Union Station was cancelled. The 6:18 a.m. train leaving from Hamilton GO Centre to Union on the Lakeshore West line was also cancelled.The 5:11 a.m. London VIA train connecting to Kitchener was also cancelled, with shuttle bu...