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‘Fucking zero’: Ryanair boss says flight bans have no chance of happening

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

Flight bans have “fucking zero” chance of success, Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary said Thursday.“What’s the likelihood of there being some success of banning flying? Fucking zero,” he told reporters at Airlines for Europe’s annual meeting of airline CEOs.“We’ve had all this bullshit here in Brussels for the last 10 years, whether it’s flight-shaming this, or some other thing that,” he said. France is so far the only country in Europe to introduce a ban on domestic short-haul flights when there’s a decent rail alternative (although in reality it affects very few journeys). But it’s an idea that’s gained traction with ministers in Austria, Belgium and Spain in recent years.But O’Leary reckons that customers in most parts of Europe won’t turn away from air travel, even if prices go up.“Europe is not going to put up with being told ‘you can’t fly.’ We get lectured by the Dutch, the Belgians, the French [and] you have to re-educate them on the geography of Eu...

Bikeless in Berlin: Europe’s cycle backlash has begun

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

This article is part of POLITICO’s Global Policy Lab: Living Cities, a collaborative journalism project exploring the future of cities. Sign up here.BERLIN — Europe’s urban cycling revolution has a flat tire. Across the Continent, popular discontent with efforts to curb cars in cities has brought cycling into the culture wars, with politicians seizing on the issue to proclaim themselves on the side of working-class drivers. In Berlin, the newly elected conservative city government is going further. Since coming into power earlier this year, the governing coalition led by the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party has rolled back a host of bike-friendly measures agreed by its left-leaning predecessor, suspending all bike infrastructure projects that “endanger” existing car lanes or parking spaces and putting an ambitious plan to add thousands of kilometers to the city’s cycling network on hold.The conservatives have also rolled back the ...

MBTA workers widened faulty Green Line tracks in early morning operations

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

The MBTA resumed running trains on the Green Line Extension at full speed on Tuesday following a string of overnight maintenance efforts that involved physically pushing the tracks apart to restore an appropriate width.MBTA officials announced Wednesday that about a mile’s worth of slow zones had been lifted across the Green Line Extension’s Union Square and Medford branches, just a bit more than two weeks after the sudden revelation that trains were limited to 3 mph because of rails that were too close together.At first, it was unclear what work the agency had performed to allow trains to resume full-speed travel, but an MBTA official told the News Service that crews spent several recent nights widening sections of the rails to address the narrowness problems.The official, who communicated only on background, likened the process to resetting a door hinge. Workers removed screw legs holding down rail tie plates, then repositioned those plates.They then placed a device in...

Can the Chicago Bears end their NFC North and home losing streaks? 12 eye-catching numbers for Sunday’s game vs. the Minnesota Vikings.

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

The Chicago Bears are in a refreshing new place, coming off a Week 5 road victory over the Washington Commanders and back home to face the reeling Minnesota Vikings. With the offense suddenly humming and the defense showing signs of improvement, the Bears have an opportunity to push their momentum forward.As Sunday’s kickoff (noon, Fox-32) nears, here are 12 eye-catching facts and figures.922Total yards by the Bears offense over the last two games, their highest two-game output since racking up 950 yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins in Weeks 4 and 6 of 2018. The Bears scored 68 points over the last two games, their highest two-game total since scoring 74 in Weeks 16 and 17 of 2020. They averaged 6.9 yards per play the last two weeks.27-531-5Catches, receiving yards and touchdowns for Bears wide receiver DJ Moore over the first five games. That puts him on pace for 92 receptions, 1,805 yards and 17 TDs. The latter two would set single-season franchise re...

Staff picks for Week 6 of 2023 NFL season: Seahawks vs. Bengals, Lions vs. Buccaneers, Eagles vs. Jets and more

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

Baltimore Sun staff writers pick every game of the NFL season. Here’s who they have winning in Week 6:Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs (Thursday, 8:15 p.m.)Brian Wacker (42-36 season; 8-6 last week): ChiefsChilds Walker (51-27 season; 7-7 last week): ChiefsMike Preston (43-35 season; 5-9 last week): ChiefsC.J. Doon (52-26 season; 8-6 last week): ChiefsTim Schwartz (47-31 season; 9-5 last week): ChiefsWashington Commanders at Atlanta Falcons (Sunday, 1 p.m.)Wacker: FalconsWalker: FalconsPreston: FalconsDoon: FalconsSchwartz: CommandersMinnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears (Sunday, 1 p.m.)Wacker: BearsWalker: VikingsPreston: BearsDoon: BearsSchwartz: VikingsSeattle Seahawks at Cincinnati Bengals (Sunday, 1 p.m.)Wacker: BengalsWalker: SeahawksPreston: BengalsDoon: SeahawksSchwartz: BengalsSan Francisco 49ers at Cleveland Browns (Sunday, 1 p.m.)Wacker: 49ersWalker: 49ersPreston: 49ersDoon: 49ersSchwartz: 49ersNew Orleans Saints at Houston Texans (Sunday, 1 p.m.)Wacker: TexansWal...

‘Are you Lamar?’ How the Ravens and their recognizable star quarterback are spending their time in London

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

Quarterback Lamar Jackson had Tuesday off as usual. What was unusual was where he spent it: wandering the streets of central London along with the rest of his Ravens teammates.Baltimore plays the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, about eight miles north of the heart of the city, and unlike the last time it played here, in 2017 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team arrived nearly a week ahead of time, landing late Monday night.The reason was simple. Last time, the Ravens didn’t arrive until Friday morning, had one practice that day, then two days later promptly got blown out, 42-7, in what was the second-biggest margin of defeat in franchise history.“We’re getting settled in,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We’re all sleeping just a little better than we did a day or two ago. We’re getting a feel for the time. We’re going to be better for it, so we’ll see. There’s no science on it. Teams hav...

Mike Preston’s Ravens mailbag: Answering questions about Lamar Jackson in the clutch, ‘miscommunication’ and more | COMMENTARY

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston will answer fans’ questions throughout the Ravens season. Coming off Baltimore’s 17-10 loss in Week 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, plenty of questions remain heading into a Week 6 matchup against the Tennessee Titans in London.Here’s Preston’s take:(Editor’s note: Questions have been edited for length and clarity.)Where is the innovative offense that Todd Monken, who was successful as a college offensive coordinator but not so much as the OC of the Browns and Buccaneers, was going to bring to the Ravens? Lamar Jackson, who is just average at best as a passer, has more receiving weapons than ever, but Odell Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers have combined for zero touchdowns. I am starting to think the Ravens were better off with Roman and Jackson leading the running game.— Bob K.Come on Bob, don’t let the frustration of one loss get to you. This offense is better and has more balance than under Greg R...

Gallery: MIT students rally in support of Israel

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

Gallery: MIT students rally in support of Israel

US inflation eased slightly last month as price increases extend slow descent

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Measures of U.S. inflation in September showed that the pace of price increases is still grinding lower, though at a slow and uneven pace.Prices in the United States increased 0.4% from August to September, a slowdown from the previous month. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department also showed that annual consumer inflation in September was unchanged from a 3.7% rise in August.And underlying inflation declined a bit: So-called core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, climbed 4.1% in September from 12 months earlier, down from a 4.3% year-over-year pace in August. That is the smallest increase in the core measure in two years. Still, on a month-to-month basis, prices are still rising faster than is consistent with the Fed’s 2% target. Core prices increased 0.3% in September, the same as the previous month. Economists and Fed officials have long cautioned that inflation would likely ease in a bumpy and uneven way, though it is still expected to ...

Branson’s Virgin wins a lawsuit against a Florida train firm that said it was a tarnished brand

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A British judge ruled in favor of Richard Branson’s Virgin group on Thursday in its lawsuit against a U.S. train company that terminated a licensing agreement and claimed the Virgin brand was no longer one of “high repute.”Judge Mark Pelling ruled in favor of Virgin Enterprises, which had sued Florida passenger train operator Brightline Holdings for breaching an agreement to rebrand as Virgin Trains USA.The two firms struck a deal in 2018, but Brightline pulled out two years later. It came shortly after the Virgin Atlantic airline filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Virgin lost the U.K. train franchise it had held for two decades.Brightline argued that Virgin had “ceased to constitute a brand of international high repute, largely because of matters related to the pandemic.” Virgin Atlantic fought financial support from the British government after COVID-19 grounded travel.Virgin sued at the High Court in London, calling Brightline’s allegations “cynic...