Sara Burack, a luxury real estate agent who appeared on Netflix’s Million Dollar Beach House, was killed Thursday when she was mowed down in a hit-and-run while walking. Photo from luxgrouppalmbeach/Instagram
June 21 (UPI) — Police on Long Island ha… [2100 chars]

A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from requiring almost two dozen mostly Democratic states to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in order to receive billions in transportation funding.
Transportation Secretary S… [3031 chars]

Jim Parsons’ Sheldon Cooper was undoubtedly the breakout star of

Daniel Cormier took a commanding lead in his coaching duel with Chael Sonnen – and one of Cormier’s fighters took home some extra cash.
The fourth episode of The Ultimate Fighter 33 featured some intense weigh-in drama as Team Sonnen’s Andreeas Binde… [3586 chars]

The Post kicked off its 15-part Mount Postmore series Wednesday, starting with our selections for the Knicks.
And as you’d expect with one of the most passionate fan bases in sports, the list elicited a range of reactions.
The biggest gripe in respon… [316 chars]

CNN —
The National Transportation Safety Board issued a rare, urgent safety bulletin warning of potential problems with the jet engines on Boeing 737 Max aircraft.
The recommendation was inspired by two incidents on Southwest Airlines flights that hi… [1242 chars]

Then one of the other bidders, Waltham-based fuel supplier Global Partners, fought back . In statements about why its bid was the better choice, Global focused on its local roots and argued it would deliver at least a half-billion dollars more in ren… [5051 chars]

Los Angeles — Getting to work is work for Franchescoli Andrade, who rides his bike, hops on a train and then takes a bus every day.
His 20-mile journey from South Los Angeles to the San Fernando Valley takes about 90 minutes each way.

The Interstate 90 and U.S. 95 interchange has been recommended for further design and construction thanks to new state funding.

WASHINGTON — A new enforcement policy being considered by the U.S. Department of Transportation marks a significant change in enforcement of trucking violations, and crash-victim advocates are concerned it will make the roads less safe.
In a Notice o… [5217 chars]

It’s officially construction season in Minnesota, also known as the time of year when orange cones multiply almost as fast as the mosquitoes. If you’ve driven anywhere in the state lately, odds are good you’ve hit a detour, a delay, or both.
READ MOR… [1525 chars]

CNN —
Americans felt a whole lot better about prices and the job market in May, a month that featured a détente in the trade war between the US and China.
Consumers’ year-ahead expectations for inflation tumbled in May by 0.4 percentage points to 3.2… [2698 chars]

Aurora and On the Road Garage team up to train autonomous vehicle technicians
Aurora has partnered with On the Road Garage, a transportation workforce development provider to launch an apprenticeship and upskilling initiative to prepare workers for t… [3742 chars]

In a press conference Wednesday, the Governor praised the budget and touted the state’s economic growth.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Gov. Henry McMaster is sending off South Carolina’s $14.7 billion state budget, approving funding for teacher pay raises, a stat… [2382 chars]

Etihad Airways has enlisted U.S.-based Western Global Airlines, still struggling to recover after exiting bankruptcy 18 months ago, to support expanded freighter service to China and London by operating a Boeing 747-400 on its behalf, FreightWaves ha… [908 chars]

Rail is one of the safest options in the transportation industry, and Greenbrier continues to advance that operational safety through innovation.
The company’s latest initiative—the GBX Training Tank Car—represents a significant advancement in tank c… [4547 chars]

Before everyone started talking about glitches in the Matrix to describe spooky goings-on, anything weird or potentially inexplicable was like entering

Trump administration to pull $4 billion from California high-speed rail funding
The California high-speed rail project may soon lose billions of dollars in federal funding.
The California high-speed rail project may soon lose billions of dollars in f… [3034 chars]

Travel Save money during New England travel in June Save money all month long with this running list of New England travel deals. The Zuiderdam cruise ship owned by Seattle-based Holland America Line. Andy Newman/Holland America
What’s better than a … [5411 chars]

WASHINGTON — Impulse Space has raised $300 million in a “preemptive” funding round to enable the in-space transportation company to expand and develop electric propulsion technologies.
Impulse Space announced June 3 it closed a $300 million Series C … [4048 chars]

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley’s iconic backwards hurdle will forever be memorialized on the cover of

Stefon Diggs’ viral boat video is apparently water under the bridge as far as the Patriots are concerned.
The team has no plans to cut the newly signed All-Pro wideout after he was spotted on a boat in Miami with a group of women, including his girlf… [2291 chars]

One of the first stars of 16 & Pregnant has lost the child featured on the show, who died Monday at age 16. Whitney Purvis appeared on the first season of the MTV reality series, and gave birth to son Weston Gosa Jr. in 2009 while she and her boyfrie… [429 chars]

It’s a sad day for Teen Mom fans. Whitney Purvis, one of the women featured in season 1 of 16 and Pregnant, has announced the death of her eldest child. Purvis shared the heartbreaking update about Weston Gosa Jr. via a Facebook post. Additional deta… [2644 chars]

Trae Isaac was one of the artists chosen to transform a Detroit alley into a vibrant community space.
The artwork of 47 experienced and emerging local artists will soon be featured in nine “Arts Alleys” across Detroit.
The City of Detroit’s Office of… [5284 chars]

June 3 (UPI) — The New York Knicks fired coach Tom Thibodeau after five seasons, including a 51-win campaign that featured an Eastern Conference finals appearance in 2024-2025, the team announced Tuesday.
Thibodeau led the Knicks to a 226-174 regula… [1069 chars]

Echo surveyed 5,000 carriers and shippers on the freight market
On Tuesday, Echo and FreightWaves co-hosted a webinar that featured Sean Burke, Echo chief commercial officer, and Jay Gustafson, Echo executive vice president of brokerage operations. T… [3383 chars]

Newark Airport’s third runway reopened ahead of schedule Monday, increasing the capacity of the beleaguered transit hub amid staffing and technical concerns that have led to widespread cancellations and delays over the past several weeks.
In announci… [4136 chars]

Legislation that passed the Texas Senate last month and that the trucking industry believed would bring about “much-needed reforms” in trucking-related lawsuits has died in the House.
But another piece of legislation backed by the industry, SB30, and… [610 chars]

The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that a FedEx Boeing 757-200’s belly landing in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was caused by the failure of the alternate gear extension system, which prevented the landing gear from being lowered durin… [1068 chars]

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!
It might have been a short week, but there was still plenty of news, including anoth… [6991 chars]

Fares for South Shore Line riders will increase an average of 10% on July 1 after a 4-1 vote by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District board.
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton voted no Wednesday, explaining he had more questions about it before … [5055 chars]

BERLIN (AP) — A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country’s president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and … [1920 chars]

In a high-stakes IPL 2025 Eliminator clash, Mumbai Indians’ stalwart Rohit Sharma added another glittering chapter to his illustrious career. Under the floodlights of the Mullanpur Stadium in Chandigarh, Rohit not only anchored his team to a memorabl… [2511 chars]

NEW YORK (AP) — Some of Sean “Diddy” Combs ’ ex-employees took a central role in the third week of his sex trafficking trial, including personal assistants who testified that the hip-hop mogul was capricious, controlling and violent.
The week began w… [6550 chars]

Table of Contents Here are the top 5 batters with most runs in an IPL season:
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a carnival of cricketing excellence, with numerous players from across the globe delivering scintillating performances in all three… [3621 chars]

The NYC Department of Transportation has put the screws to drivers who are trying to avoid congestion pricing tolls by entering Manhattan via the Queensborough Bridge, critics told The Post.
The agency helped spur relentless massive gridlock last mon… [5516 chars]

It may sound unrealistic, but nearly every new heavy-duty, semi-truck (Class 8) sold in the United States (99.9% of them, in fact) comes from just seven brands, which in turn are owned by only four companies. A Class 8 truck is defined as anything wi… [1164 chars]

HARVEY, Ill. – Winfred Wilson was struggling to make ends meet on less than $700 a month, so he moved in with his daughter, gave up his car and started relying exclusively on public transit to take him wherever he needed to go across Chicago’s southe… [5908 chars]

HARVEY, Ill. (AP) — Winfred Wilson was struggling to make ends meet on less than $700 a month, so he moved in with his daughter, gave up his car and started relying exclusively on public transit to take him wherever he needed to go across Chicago’s s… [5894 chars]

Second only to

Summary Telegram secures $300 million plus 50% of on-platform xAI subscription sales in exchange for implementing Grok for a year.
The Grok LLM chatbot could add a host of AI-powered functions like smart composition and automated chat moderation.
Pav… [3397 chars]

According to Anna Del Conte, Italian-born British food writer, Spaghetti Puttanesca is a dish with roots in the poorest district of Rome, the Trastevere. The recipe for this quick-to-prepare, spicy pasta is included in Del Conte’s newest book, “Class… [2135 chars]

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for constantly growing, thanks to content arriving in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Arguably the most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies are Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, as it… [2721 chars]

Both the defending Big Ten champions and last year’s runner-up will step into the spotlight with early showdowns as some of the first teams picked for the Big Ten on CBS schedule for 2025.
CBS Sports announced its college football schedule for 2025 o… [7798 chars]

Jasmine Barnes has been following the headlines about dysfunction in Jackson’s City Hall since college, taking notes on government meeting minutes and financial records.
The auditor at the Mississippi Department of Transportation had wanted to run fo… [12520 chars]

A Manhattan federal judge has blocked the federal government from ending congestion pricing before the end of an ongoing lawsuit — issuing a preliminary injunction against Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the U.S. Department of Transportation … [2161 chars]

is a senior reporter for Vox’s Future Perfect section, with a focus on animal welfare and the future of meat.
Late last month, some 14,000 baby chicks in Pennsylvania were shipped from a hatchery — commercial operations that breed chickens, incubate … [7823 chars]

Ars: Ten years ago you kind of made big bets on Starship and Starlink, and most people probably expected one or both of them to fail.
Musk: Including me.
Ars: Yeah. These were huge bets.
Musk: I was interviewed in the early days of Starlink, and they… [3203 chars]

1 of 2 | An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800’s left landing gear collapses during landing at John Wayne-Orange County Airport on August 20, 2023. On Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed

Altogether, thousands of students sit on district buses for more than 45 minutes each morning as they are transported to far-flung neighborhoods they and their families have chosen.
School choice, a legacy of Boston’s integration busing system that a… [6923 chars]

It was a stroke of brilliance for the Trump administration and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to tap Andy Byford to oversee the decades-long needed rebuilding of bedraggled Penn Station, the country’s busiest train facility that shames New York … [2976 chars]

CNN —
The WNBA announced on Tuesday that its investigation could not substantiate allegations of “racist fan behavior” during a recent game between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever in Indianapolis earlier this month.
The announcement comes nine days… [3290 chars]

SpaceX launched its Starship megarocket for the ninth time ever today (May 27), on a bold test flight that featured the first-ever significant reuse of Starship hardware.
Starship’s two stages separated as planned on Flight 9, and the upper stage eve… [7378 chars]

State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada N… [716 chars]

There are tons of great deals out there this week, including the return of a few particularly popular sales. The Apple Watch Series 10 is back down to $299, which is the best price of the season. A popular Sony portable Bluetooth speaker just fell to… [1045 chars]

McKee’s executive counsel, Claire Richards, wrote to legislators, saying the bill would “intrude on the privacy’s of the state’s citizens, undermine criminal investigations, and lead to burdensome and overbroad requests, imposing financial burden on … [6412 chars]

The trucking industry has faced its longest and deepest downturn in history, beginning in March 2022. This prolonged slump, known as the Great Freight Recession, has driven many trucking companies out of business.
A sluggish goods economy contributed… [1303 chars]

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
President Donald Trump ha… [7100 chars]

Here’s your guide to what’s open and what’s closed on Memorial Day:
Memorial Day, the unofficial kick-off of summer, is this Monday, May 26. The holiday honors US military members who died serving their country.
Businesses
Retail stores: Open, but su… [1626 chars]

(Paul Sancya, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Detroit officials released some tips for getting around downtown as several hundred thousand people are expected to visit the city this Memorial Day weekend.
The city is hosting … [2027 chars]

EAGAN, Minn. — The reigning NFL MVP will be a featured attraction this season on the league’s training camp documentary, with the Buffalo Bills making their first appearance on “Hard Knocks.”
The New York Giants will get another shot, too, after thei… [2673 chars]

Ever since the first American trucking agency hit the road in 1897, truck drivers have been the backbone of the nation’s supply chain, accounting for over 70% of freight transportation in the country. They deliver goods to places that are too remote,… [668 chars]

Leaving with two friends for Yosemite National Park on Friday to climb 8,846-foot Half Dome on Sunday, Kim Withrow of San Jose was more worried about the roads on the trip home than on the way out.
“I have a feeling the trip back is going to be a bit… [5841 chars]

Markets stabilized on Thursday after the dual sell-off in stocks and bonds, but a key corner of the equity market is blinking a caution light on the economy. The Dow Jones Transportation Average is headed for a losing week and has fallen back below i… [1993 chars]

In a TikTok video, then-17-year-old actor Symonne Harrison unveils a bathroom counter full of products from the skincare brand Drunk Elephant that would retail for at least $700 total.

For drivers experiencing delays amid construction on state Highway 53, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, according to the Idaho Transportation Department.
Pleasant View Road is closed between Highway 53 and just north of the roundabout on Pra… [1732 chars]

The NFC East will follow the AFC North as the NFL division to be featured on the in-season edition of HBO and NFL Film‘s “Hard Knocks” for the 2025 campaign.
That means fans will get an inside look at the debut season for new head coach Brian Schotte… [1177 chars]

In response to the escalating complexity of global trade disruptions, SONAR has launched its Trade War Command Center, a comprehensive solution designed to help logistics professionals navigate the unpredictable landscape shaped by recent trade polic… [1640 chars]

His Geocities-meets-Myspace campaign website features those ideas , plus “exponential” fines on loud motorbikes and vehicles (somewhere, Scot Lehigh is smiling ).
Those two leading candidates differed on some things, which I’ll get to. But Alex, who … [4146 chars]

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former personal assistant claimed he told Cassie Ventura to leave the rapper in the early days of their relationship.
David James, who worked as Combs’ personal assistant from 2007 until 2009, confirmed Diddy had multiple girlfrie… [2667 chars]

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – The South Carolina Department of Transportation said it will temporarily close a ramp on Interstate 20 as part of a work project.
SCDOT announced Monday the overnight closure would impact the I-20 westbound ramp to Interstate 2… [1029 chars]

A meeting at the Vatican on Monday featured what the New York Times calls

They’re not too old for this s–t!
“Lethal Weapon” co-stars Mel Gibson, 69, and Danny Glover, 78, reminded fans of the iconic catchphrase featured in all four films when they reunited over the weekend, 38 years after the first movie launched.
Their re… [3591 chars]

The airline industry set a new record for the highest full-year traffic with over 40 million scheduled flights in 2024, marking a 10.4% increase compared to 2023. The numbers also highlight how quickly the industry has rebounded post-pandemic. Airpla… [1266 chars]

When it comes to Zendaya and Tom Holland’s relationship , they keep it pretty private . However, every once in a while, we get a small peek or nod to their sweet love story, and the Challengers actress just gave us one by showing off her small “t” ta… [3074 chars]

Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
On my first day as transportation secretary in January, a tra… [4764 chars]

South Carolina faces alarming maternal mortality rates, with Black women nearly twice as affected as white women.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina ranks among the worst states in the nation for maternal mortality, and a new report is calling on state … [2521 chars]

Look what you made him do.
President Trump on Friday slammed two of New Jersey’s most famous faces — music icons Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen — as the Garden State dealt with a train strike that left 350,000 commuters scrambling for alternate t… [1801 chars]

The wrestling world lost when its most “homicidal, genocidal, and death-defying” figures in May 2025 when ECW legend Sabu, real name Terrance Brunk, passed away at the age of 60. In a sad form of irony, Dark Side of the Ring, one of the best shows on… [3454 chars]

It’s easy to get addicted to using Touch ID whenever you need to gain password-restricted access to anything. But not everyone is a big fan of Magic Keyboard with Touch ID (not the function, the keeb itself). Today’s MacBook Pro setup user found an o… [3413 chars]

Crime rates aboard cruise ships leaving the US have reached a two-year high, and one expert says this creates a “dark cloud” for travelers.
According to data from the Department of Transportation, allegations of 48 crimes were reported onboard cruise… [3695 chars]

Topline Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, will take the witness stand again Wednesday in his sex trafficking and racketeering trial as the prosecution’s key witness, one day after she testified Combs had controlled her life, physical… [10438 chars]

Topline Cassie Ventura testified Wednesday that Sean “Diddy” Combs blackmailed her with videos he recorded that depicted her performing in “freak-off” sexual interactions with male escorts, as she recalled a violent decade spent dating the music mogu… [10578 chars]

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is posing an impeccable argument about due process to President Donald Trump, whose administration mistakenly sent Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a notorious prison in El Salvador and has … [3783 chars]

Three years ago, I wrote about the Amazonification of Uber, an evolution of the transportation company into a closed business loop that feeds customers back into other Uber channels. At the time, the focus was on how Uber creates customer stickiness … [3518 chars]

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy assured lawmakers that safety will not be sacrificed in the wake of a major workforce reduction plan that he is getting ready to roll out.
“We are working through some ideas right now on how we can str… [750 chars]

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Sunday assured the public that the beleaguered Newark Airport is safe to fly in and out of.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed Wednesday that the number of flights in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport could be reduced and told lawmakers concerned about the deep staffing cuts to the Federal Aviation… [5383 chars]

From Washington to Newark, recent aviation mishaps are prompting Congress to scrutinize safety protocols, revealing a pattern of miscommunication, unauthorized flights, and technical failures.
Senior Federal Aviation Administration officials on Wedne… [7762 chars]

WASHINGTON — The top union for air traffic controllers is hampering Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s plans to boost hiring by penalizing those who want to work beyond retirement age, The Post has learned.
Duffy is offering cash bonuses of up to … [6212 chars]

FreightWaves announced the winners of its prestigious 2025 Fraud Fighters Awards on stage at its Freight Fraud event in Dallas, Texas, recognizing 10 companies that have developed cutting-edge solutions to combat the growing threat of fraud in the fr… [2011 chars]

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) – South Carolina Department of Transportation leaders are asking Johns Islanders who drive on River Road to participate in an online survey about a future project replacing a short two-lane bridge.
The bridge over Burden Cre… [2337 chars]

Saquon Barkley will be featured heavily in prime time in 2025. The Giants wait to see if they’ll be so fortunate.
Barkley and the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles have been paraded around the early schedule announcements by the NFL’s … [2266 chars]

In the late 20th century, Dallas was often accused of fixating on style over substance — a new-money city full of big hair and big buildings, trying to mask big insecurities in the wake of the Kennedy assassination.
But there was one musical exceptio… [7308 chars]

You’ve never seen a robot vacuum with mopping like the ECOVACS DEEBOT T80 OMNI, and it has a special 10% launch discount. Apple’s iPad 11th-Gen is also down to the all-time low price, and you can score a 65-inch LG smart TV for only $496.99. Plus, th… [971 chars]

Eaton Fire victim finally gets help from State Farm after lengthy insurance battle
An Eaton Fire victim whose home was damaged is finally getting the help she needs from her insurance company.
An Eaton Fire victim whose home was damaged is finally ge… [2057 chars]

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – Wisconsin transportation officials estimate nearly $37 million in fraud loss from odometer rollbacks last year.
In recognizing National Odometer Day on Monday, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation DMV is asking car buyers… [1859 chars]

The delays continued at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday evening with average backups of more than 1 1/2 hours.
NEWARK, N.J. — A new software update prevented a third radar outage in the last two weeks at New Jersey’s busy Newark airpor… [3960 chars]

Bill to dissolve West Feliciana Port Commission sails through committee, called ‘irresponsible’
BATON ROUGE – A bill that would dissolve the West Feliciana Port Commission sailed through the Transportation Committee on Tuesday with no objection.
Stat… [2899 chars]

Topline Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, took the witness stand Tuesday morning in what could be a days-long testimony crucial to the government’s case against the rap mogul, in which Ventura testified Combs would frequently subject… [8220 chars]

The NorthCAN forum featured ways some northern communities and businesses are developing local northern B.C. solutions to combat climate change
A local government panel at NorthCAN forum facilitated by Felicia Magee, from left, with Cariboo Regional … [6638 chars]

When Pope Francis was elected in 2013, the go-to fictional work for Vatican intrigue was

Editor’s note: We prohibit the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates and a permanent suspension of the Athlete of the Week poll. No voting by email: Votes by email… [3856 chars]

In 1997, both

Salma Hayek Pinault can now add Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover star to her list of accomplishments.
The “House of Gucci” actor, 58, stuns on the cover of the 2025 issue of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, on newsstands May 17. She joined TODAY on Tues… [2513 chars]

Marvel Comics made their way onto the realm of animated TV frequently, beginning way back in 1966 with the anthology series

Last year’s home-opener featured rapper 50 Cent and 53,000+ fans at BC Place Stadium
BC Lions will begin their 71st season against Edmonton Elks on June 7 at BC Place Stadium, where Snoop Dogg will perform that Saturday night.
Details about the CFL t… [1322 chars]

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) – The State Transportation Infrastructure Bank has voted to terminate the Mark Clark Expressway intergovernmental agreement with Charleston County and the Department of Transportation that would have funded the extension of I-52… [675 chars]

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is unveiling his plan for a new air traffic control system Thursday. The announcement comes as the international airport in Newark, New Jersey, continues to deal with disruptions following an outage last week.
Air … [1366 chars]

The Sistema Choir performed at the Kiwanis Highlights Concert in April 2025. Photo via Sistema Kingston on Facebook.
Sistema Kingston will celebrate 10 years of music education, community, and learning with a fundraising concert.
The concert will take place on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, and hosted by Chelsey Hiebert, Network Lead of the Sistema Canada Network.
The 10th Anniversary Concert — Ten Seasons of Love — is a musical celebration that brings together all of Sistema’s current students in grades 2 to 8 from Molly Brant Elementary School and St. Thomas More Catholic School, according to a release from Queen’s University.
The Sistema Kingston program is housed at Queen’s Faculty of Education and is supported by Bader Philanthropies, Joe’s Music MILL, Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board, Limestone District School Board, the Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation, The Isabel, the Morgan Foundation, the Cataraqui-Kingston Rotary Club, and many private individuals. Sistema Kingston offers “an intensive after-school music program that focuses on positive social change through the pursuit of musical excellence,” according to the organization, which employs the Venezuelan El Sistema model to “inspire children to reach their full potential as students, musicians, and citizens.”
“The performance will include a Nahuatl song, a string piece commissioned by the Sistema Canada Network, our very own take on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, two brand new songs from a collaboration with Sistema and Kingston singer-songwriter Gary Rasberry, and ‘Seasons of Love’ from the musical RENT,” organizers stated.
“Students will perform in choir, as well as drumming, strings and xylophone ensembles.”
Image via Sistema Kingston on Facebook.
The event is also a fundraiser for the Sistema Kingston program. Admission is by donation at the door, or online at https://www.givetoqueens.ca/project/view/661. Further details on the event are available on the Queen’s University website: https://www.queensu.ca/theisabel/whats-on/ten-seasons-love, and further details on Sistema Kingston can be found on the Queen’s Faculty of Education website at https://educ.queensu.ca/community/initiatives/sistema-kingston.

Helping residents learn how to help out in their community was the point of the Volunteer Fair hosted by the Batavia Chamber of Commerce Tuesday afternoon.
The event at the Batavia Public Library featured over three dozen non-profit organizations looking for volunteers.
Kathryn Vance of Batavia said she has lived in town for more than 20 years and had just retired.
“I’m just looking. There are so many times I wanted to volunteer but I was still working,” she said at the four-hour event Tuesday. “Now, I don’t know exactly, but I’m kind of looking around. I want to work with children but I’m open. I’m going to take a quick look at everything.”
Nicolette Jensen, also of Batavia, said at the Volunteer Fair that “she just wanted to contribute somehow. I’m looking to find something that I’m interested in.”
“I do like seniors and I do like kids,” Jensen said. “There are a couple things I’ve already seen that I’m interested in, and there are several I’ve never heard of.”
Margaret Perreault, president and CEO of the Batavia Chamber of Commerce, said the fair was organized for the first time a year ago and it “was a great success.”
“Moving forward this year we heard from our not-for-profits that they really appreciated our Volunteer Fair by not only getting quality volunteers at food pantries and other places and also the visibility that we provided,” Perreault said.
A year ago, Perreault said that “a lot of one-time volunteer opportunities were popular” including service hours for students as well as “things like helping Mutual Ground … or volunteering and signing up on the Northern Illinois Food Bank website and knowing how to do that.”
“Those kinds of opportunities that most people aren’t aware of, that’s the kind of thing many of our not-for-profits appreciated,” she said about the Volunteer Fair.
Perreault said that Batavia residents want to give back to their city.
“People want to support our community and support the people here,” she said.
Cathy Madlinger, a board member of Batavia RSVP which offer rides for senior citizens, said last year’s fair drew about a dozen volunteers for the group.
“It was extremely important as we had a hiatus for three or four years due to COVID,” she said. “A lot of the not-for-profits in the Tri-City area were looking for volunteers and people are very generous with their time but don’t always know where to look. This gives them kind of a one-stop shop to show what’s available.”
Sharon Filiaggi of Batavia came to the Volunteer Fair on Tuesday because she is “looking to contribute to the community.”
“I’ve worked for non-profits before and working for them there are rewards. I’ve always enjoyed being involved in something that gives back to people and gives back to the community,” she said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Monday blamed the Biden administration for not addressing aging airport infrastructure, which he claims contributed to the terrifying radar and communications outage at Newark Liberty International Airport last week.
“We have really old infrastructure in America,” Duffy told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “It hasn’t been updated in the last 30-40 years.”
“This should have been dealt with in the last administration — they did nothing,” the Trump administration official charged.
3 Duffy teased a major announcement regarding air traffic control operations that he plans to make on Thursday. Fox News
Newark airport has received more than $170 million in federal funds for “runways, taxiways, safety and sustainability projects, as well as terminal, airport transit connections, and roadway projects,” since 2022.
But a fried piece of copper wire sparked a temporary radar and communications blackout for air traffic controllers overseeing the second-busiest airport in the New York metro area on April 28, leaving those in the tower “unable to see, hear, or talk to” planes in the sky, a National Air Traffic Controllers Association spokesperson said Monday.
Newark Airport has experienced hundreds of flight cancellations and thousands of delays since the disruption.
“The primary communication line went down, the backup line didn’t fire, and so for 30 seconds, we lost contact with air traffic control,” Duffy said of the incident during his appearance on “The Ingraham Angle.”
“Were planes going to crash? No, they have communication devices. They can see other air traffic,” the transportation secretary continued.
“But it’s a sign that we have a frail system in place, and it has to be fixed.”
Duffy noted that while both communication lines are now working, “less departures” will be going out of Newark “until we feel comfortable and safe that the system isn’t going to go down again.”
The former congressman said he hopes to get “all the airlines” that fly out of Newark to participate in departure reduction efforts.
3 Duffy blamed the Biden administration for not addressing aging airport infrastructure. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post
3 Fewer departures out of Newark Airport have resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations and thousands of delays. AP
Duffy pledged to fix the infrastructure problem that led to the chaos and teased an announcement coming later this week to “radically transform air traffic control operations.
“We are going to radically transform the way air traffic control looks,” Duffy said. “We’re going to build a brand new air traffic control system, from new telecom to new radars to new infrastructure.
“This has been a problem in the decades coming, and we’re going to fix it,” he vowed.
He added that President Trump “loves” talking airspace and airplanes and has “bought into” the plan set to be announced on Thursday

Amtrak is lying to President Trump and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, just as the unaccountable, incompetent railroad monopoly has been lying to the public and New York leaders about their horrible plan to close part of the East River Tunnel, putting at severe risk of a catastrophic meltdown impacting tens of thousands of commuters.
The newest lie is that an outmoded 1910 technology, the bulky concrete bench walls on the sides of the tubes, are needed to insulate the electric power cables. That was the case in 1910, when the tunnel was built, but not now.
Forced to admit the truth, that yes, nights and weekends repairs are possible, as demanded by a bipartisan chorus of New Yorkers, from Rep. Elise Stefanik to Gov. Hochul to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman to Rep. Mike Lawler, Amtrak whines that such a procedure would cost vastly more money than their plan to fully shutter part of the conduit for at least three years. Why? Because demolishing and repouring the bench walls nights and weekends is very complicated and very expensive.
The president and secretary must ignore the smokescreen. The truth is that bench walls are not needed to prevent derailments, they are not needed to insulate the high voltage cables and they are not needed to serve as walkways along the edge of the tunnel, the three phony excuses offered by Amtrak.
And without having to remove and rebuild the bench walls, nights and weekends work can bring the East River Tunnel into pristine operating condition, abiding by every modern fire and safety code written into National Fire Protection Association section 130 Standard for Fixed Guideway Transit and Passenger Rail Systems.
New York already had this debate, in 2019, regarding the repairs to the L-train. A team of six engineering professors from Columbia and Cornell, including both deans, concluded that the bench walls were expendable and superfluous.
As then-Columbia Dean Mary Boyce said: “We see a dramatic reduction in what we refer to as the non-value-added project scope. So, we don’t reduce the scope, but we eliminate those parts of the scope that had no value. For example, if we do not need to remove the bench wall and reconstruct the bench wall, we’re not going to do it. And that’s an incredibly time-intensive, labor-intensive element that we’ve removed. It had no real value, when we do not need to do that. We also see that we have enhanced safety and functionality of the project, and of the end experience for every commuter. And we have enhanced flood resilience.”
It’s the truth then and the truth now. The independent experts from London Bridge Associates, in a comprehensive 2020 report proved that nights and weekends work would be a perfect fit to fully repair Amtrak’s New York tunnels. LBA offered a range of options and now Amtrak has latched on to the most expensive option: demolishing and rebuilding the bench walls. Trump and Duffy must say absolutely no way; use a more economical approach.
Trump and Duffy already fired Amtrak’s Biden-era CEO, Steve Gardner. They should not accept such garbage from Gardner’s No. 2, Roger Harris, an airline man whose job before Amtrak was at Aeroméxico. What the hell does Harris know about tunnel engineering that the professors and LBA don’t?

The MTA is asking a federal judge to order the feds to keep the battle over congestion pricing in the courts — and not in the streets, as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has thrice threatened.
In the preliminary injunction filed late Monday night, the MTA asks that the judge bar Duffy from making good on his “patently unlawful” move to “avoid the judicial process,” and end the program through threats of “unlawful retribution” if the state fails to comply with his constantly-moving deadlines.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA CEO Janno Lieber ride the city’s subway on May 1, 2025. Matthew McDermott
“With no serious defense on the merits,” writes Roberta Kaplan, representing the MTA, “the Administration has now resorted to what seems to be its modus operandi: attempting to improperly leverage federal funding in order to coerce compliance with its wishes, rather than defend the legality of its propositions in court.”
The MTA says that a preliminary injunction is needed because, if Duffy were to make good on his “coercive” threats to withhold all sorts of federal transportation funding to the state, it “would have immediate and harmful implications.”
“The threatened measures will undeniably cause irreparable harm,” the MTA writes. “That is the point: Defendants acknowledge that they seek to coerce compliance with their lawless demands by threatening the funding of other public projects.”
“On the other hand, capitulating to Defendants’ demands would be just as devastating,” the MTA attorneys write, citing the loss of roughly $50 million in monthly revenue to support public transit.

Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is investigating the May 2 crash
A helicopter crash near Whitehorse has left one crew member dead. The incident is under investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB).
The TSB issued a notice on May 3 that it was deploying investigators to Whitehorse in response to a helicopter crash that took place the previous day.
A TSB spokesperson told the News on May 5 that the crash involved an Airbus AS350B which departed on a training flight from the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport on May 2 with two pilots on board. The crash took place about 10 kilometres east of the airport. Per the spokesperson, the helicopter was operated by Horizon Helicopters.
“It is with deep sorrow that we can confirm that one of our helicopters was involved in an accident during a routine training flight on May 2,” a May 4 post to the company’s Facebook page reads.
The post confirms that the incident resulted in one fatality.
“Our heartfelt condolences are extended to the family of the deceased. Out of respect for their privacy and in support of our team, we kindly ask for privacy during this difficult time,” it reads.
Additional information on the helicopter crash provided by the Yukon Coroner’s Service states that the deceased is a 47-year-old pilot from Alberta.
According to the coroner’s service, the aircraft had been in flight for about an hour prior to the crash. The incident was reported via emergency locator transmitters at 3:10 p.m. on May 2.
The TSB was unable to provide a timeline on when its investigation might be complete.
The Yukon RCMP was involved in the emergency response following the crash. The communications department of the Yukon RCMP division told the News that officers specializing in search and rescue and emergency medical response supported rescue efforts and the RCMP will continue to assist the TSB in its investigation.
Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com

LITTLE FALLS (WJON News) — A Central Minnesota town has received a large grant to help with a road improvement project.
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Little Falls has been awarded a $1.38 million Surface Transportation Block Grant from the Central Minnesota Area Transportation Partnership as part of the Carbon Reduction Program. The grant money will be used to help construct a roundabout at the intersection of Highway 27 and 18th Street on the Northeast side of town.
PHOTO courtesy of Google. PHOTO courtesy of Google. loading…
The grant is capped, and the city is responsible for providing matching funds. The project is currently scheduled to start in 2027.
READ MORE FROM AUTHOR PAUL HABSTRITT:
The Little Falls Dam Looks Totally Different July 2020 Compared to July 2021
Little Falls Arts & Crafts Show The Little Falls Arts & Crafts show is one of the last big events of the summer. The show continues to draw people in from around the state and crafters from across the country. Check out these photos from its 51st year.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – The North Charleston week and a half Arts Fest featured performances and exhibitions by painters, storytellers, dancers, educators, musicians, weavers, sculptors and more.
The event from April 30 to May 4 spanned a variety of locations and showcased a range of talents. From puppet shows and improv, to live painting and gospel performances the Arts Fest featured the best of what local talent has to offer.
Events took place at libraries, community centers, businesses, parks and the coliseum. Artists, performers and vendors were selected through an open application process.
The closing event also wrapped up the visual art competitions & exhibitions, including Judged Fine Art and Photography, SC Palmetto Hands Fine Craft, and Tri-County Youth Art and High School Sculpture.
Performers from Academic Magnet and Charleston County School of the Arts performed musical numbers from the 2000s while patrons browsed art submissions from local schools, as well as art for sale from local artists.
John Cusatis is a teacher at the School of the Arts and says it’s an event students look forward to every year.
“The kids feel like they belong to something because they do, and their talent is incredible, and they may not get to express it, because most of them are performing outside of their School of the Arts major, you know. They may be a theater major, playing bass or creative writers singing,” Cusatis says.
One of those students is Rachel Wheelon.
“I’m a creative writing major, so I don’t ever perform and I’ve been singing for a bit, but I don’t sing in front of people so it’s my first time doing that. But it’s been really great because I get to meet new people and share my love of music with everyone else,” Wheelon says.
Others like Madison Deaton are following a music path, but also going out of their comfort zone to participate in the event.
“I’ve never played with a live band before….but at the School of the Arts, we have majors and I’m a vocal major so I sing a lot and it’s what I want to do in college and this really solidified my want to do a career in music,” Deaton says.
Cameron Barnett also performed at last year’s event and says it’s a good way to meet with other students they don’t always work with, create new bonds, and explore new collaborations. The musicians also took the chance to walk through the rows of local art.
“It was a good experience last year and a lot of great artwork and a good chance to play music with all these incredible musicians.”
Quincey Christian and Mariana Becerra performed songs on stage, and said they also enjoyed the large scale displays of the event, especially the local youth artwork.
“Kind of a lot of the artwork is actually from like, my old schools and stuff. So it’s cool to see, like, people that I know make awesome work,” Christian says.
“” It’s pretty epic to see how many kids across our county can do art like this,” Becerra says.
The North Charleston Arts Fest is an annual event that organizers say they look forward to continuing in years to come, showcasing local talent of all ages in a variety of skills.
North Charleston’s Cultural Arts department consists of nine staff members and a total budget of $1.4 million, according to the 2024-2025 fiscal year budget. That budget allocates $5,000 for statewide advertising of the North Charleston Arts Fest. The department also runs youth programs and a cultural center with events year-round.
Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Human Jukebox featured in Emmy nominated documentary
BATON ROUGE – In two weeks, a group of Southern University students will know if their film,

Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene has shed light on the strategic decision to primarily utilize former captain Rohit Sharma as an impact substitute during the ongoing IPL 2025 season. Jayawardene cited a lingering injury sustained during India’s victorious Champions Trophy campaign and the team’s evolving tactical requirements as the key factors influencing this approach.
Mahela Jayawadene opens up about Rohit Sharma’s injury
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Mumbai Indians’ crucial encounter against Gujarat Titans, Jayawardene revealed that Rohit has been managing a “niggle” since the earlier part of the year. “No, it wasn’t at the start. Obviously, Rohit was on the field in some of the games,” Jayawardene stated, addressing the initial phase of the season.
He further elaborated that the composition of the team and the demands of various venues necessitate players capable of fulfilling multiple roles, including agile fielding, particularly near the boundaries. “But if you look at the composition of the team, most of the guys are doing dual roles. Most of them are bowling. At the same time, some of the venues need boundary runners,” he explained. “You need guys with speed and all that. So that also comes into play.”
Jayawardene stressed that the decision to use Rohit as an Impact Sub was not a pre-planned strategy but rather a reactive measure to both his physical condition and the dynamic needs of the squad. “Rohit was also nursing a niggle from the Champions Trophy. So we wanted to make sure that we don’t push him too hard. And we have managed that while batting is the most important thing,” he added.
Also READ: IPL 2025 – Players who have represented both Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans in IPL T20
Rohit Sharma rediscovers his form in IPL 2025
The 38-year-old opener, a stalwart of the IPL and a five-time title-winning captain for MI, has predominantly featured as a specialist batter this season. He typically enters the game as an impact substitute, often joining the field only towards the end of Mumbai Indians’ bowling innings and has been noticeably absent from fielding for the majority of matches. This strategy, according to Jayawardene, is aimed at managing Rohit’s workload and preserving his fitness for his primary role at the top of the batting order.
Despite a somewhat slow start to the season, Rohit has rediscovered his form at a critical juncture, accumulating 293 runs in 10 innings, including three half-centuries. His valuable contributions have provided solid starts for the team and have coincided with Mumbai Indians’ impressive resurgence. The team has strung together six consecutive wins, climbing to third place on the IPL 2025 points table with 14 points from 11 matches.
With two home games remaining, MI are in a strong position to secure a playoff berth.
Also READ: IPL 2025 – Gujarat Titans clear the air on Kagiso Rabada testing positive for recreational drug

This post contains major spoilers for Marvel’s

Warren Buffett announced Saturday that he will retire as Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) CEO at the end of 2025 and hand the reins to Greg Abel, a transition that’s long been expected given that Buffett publicly named Abel as his successor in 2021.
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Buffett, 94, will stay on as Berkshire’s board chair.
While the move was expected, it comes as a jolt given the Oracle of Omaha’s legendary run as the head of the $1.1 trillion conglomerate.
Abel, 62, first joined Berkshire in 2000. He has steadily climbed the ranks and has been the vice chairman of Berkshire’s non-insurance companies since 2018. The companies he oversees reported $5 billion in earnings in the first quarter of 2025, according to CNN.
Buffett has been hyping Abel as his heir apparent for years, telling CNBC in 2023 that Abel “does all the work, and I take all the bows.” Buffett added, “He’s a big improvement on me, but don’t tell anybody.”
Now, Abel will be the CEO of a multinational conglomerate that has subsidiaries in industries across food, retail, transportation, and more. Here are eight of the biggest companies Abel will oversee when he takes over at the end of the year.

For the first time since 2023’s

This is the UFC Des Moines live blog for Miesha Tate vs. Yana Santos, the featured bantamweight bout for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event at Wells Fargo Arena.
Tate returns to action for the first time in 17 months. In her most recent outing, the former bantamweight champion stopped Julia Avila at UFC Austin in December 2023. The win was the first for “Cupcake” since winning her first fight following a five-year retirement from November 2016 to November 2021 against Marion Reneau. Tate is set to make her 14th octagon appearance.
Santos—currently No. 12 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings—makes her first appearance of 2025. In her most recent outing, the 35-year-old picked up her first win in nearly four years with a decision victory against Chelsea Chandler in August 2024. Prior to that, “Foxy” suffered losses to Holly Holm, Irene Aldana, and Karol Rosa.
Check out the live blog for Miesha Tate vs. Yana Santos below.

Travel Save money during New England travel in May Save money all month long with this running list of New England travel deals. The Amtrak Downeaster. Amtrak
What’s better than a New England getaway? A New England getaway with a discount.
Ahead, discover travel deals for food, transportation, hotels, and activities across the region this May.
Transportation
Beginning May 1, travelers can explore Nova Scotia and Maine for less money when bringing a group aboard The Cat, a high-speed car ferry in Bar Harbor, Maine. The One, Two, Free deal allows travelers who book a reservation for one vehicle and two passengers to enjoy free passage for up to three additional passengers (a savings of up to $630). The deal is available until Oct. 15.
In celebration of National Bike Month and National Mental Health Awareness Month, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is offering a $50 credit for Bluebikes, its largest credit ever. Beginning on May 1, bikers can redeem the credit by entering the code BLUECROSSMABIKE in the “rewards” section of the Bluebikes app. Credits are available while supplies last and must be used by Dec. 31, 2025.
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Get 25% off flights to Europe on PLAY through May 4. Restrictions and baggage fees apply.
Amtrak is offering 20% off Downeaster fares for all trains on any day due to a tie replacement project that will result in service modifications and minor delays. No promo code is needed and the deal is valid for travel April 1 to June 30.
Steak frites at Medium Rare in Watertown. – Alex Staniloff
Restaurants
Five lucky moms who brunch on Mother’s Day, May 11, at Medium Rare in Watertown will discover a spa gift card beneath their plates. But all moms will enjoy a complimentary glass of champagne and a rose, as well as a $39.99 bottomless brunch with unlimited cocktails for 25 cents. For those who’d prefer dinner, get complimentary seconds when ordering the steak frites entree for $34.95.
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Head over to Providence G in Providence, R.I. for an after-work ‘Appy Hour’ in May with specials that include $1 buck-a-cluck chicken drumsticks at GPub (where sidewalk seating opens on May 15), half-priced bottles of wine at Sarto and buck-a-shuck oysters on the Rooftop.
Take mom to The Lexington in Cambridge on May 11 for a special Mother’s Day meal. Guests will enjoy a three-course prix-fixe menu for $50 per person. Reservations are encouraged and can be made here.
Diners can snag deals every night of the week at the Wayside Restaurant in Montpelier, Vermont, which has been serving patrons since 1918. The entrees, which range from chicken pie to meatloaf, start at $9.95 and include soup and a choice of two sides.
Chateau Italian Kitchen & Bar, which has several locations in Massachusetts, has special deals for those who don’t mind eating early. Three-course early dinner deals are served weekly between 3 and 5 p.m. on Saturdays from 3 to 4 p.m. and include $12.99 for pasta, $18.99 for seafood, and more. Find a location near you.
Joey Fatone and Lance Bass at Great Wolf Lodge.
Hotels
In honor of the 25th anniversary of NSYNC’s “It’s gonna be me,” Great Wolf Lodge, which has locations in Massachusetts and Connecticut, is running a “It’s gonna be May” promo for one day only on Thursday, May 1: Save up to 51% off stays between May 1 and Aug. 14 by using the promo code BEMAY.
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Raffles Boston has launched a partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) and is offering an “Affair of the Arts” package beginning May 1 that includes accommodations in a Raffles suite, butler service, passes for two to the MFA, roundtrip transportation to the museum, daily breakfast, a $100 dining credit, and a keepsake from Raffles and the MFA. The starting rate is $1,636 and is subject to availability. The deal is available through Dec. 31.
The iconic Veranda House on Nantucket was just rebuilt after a devastating fire and travelers can save up to 15% on extended stays through June with the promo code ESSEN. Take a look inside the property, which reopened in April.
Get 15% off when you book a three-night stay at Watch Hill Inn in Watch Hill, R.I., valid for stays between May 2 and June 14 and also Sept. 14 and Oct. 31. Guests will also have access to the amenities at the nearby Ocean House.
Take advantage of a New England Inns & Resorts (NEIRA) summer special and save 20% off Thursday to Sunday stays and 10% off Friday and Saturday stays at Water’s Edge Resort & Spa in Westbrook, Conn. by using the code NEIRA. The offer is valid through May 31.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in November 2022.
Museums / Attractions / Activities
Ski for $9 at Black Mountain in Jackson, N.H. on May 3 during the ski area’s 90th birthday bash and final day of the season.
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At Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Boston, which offers food, beer, and films all in one place, you can snag gift cards worth $75 or more for 20% off through May 9 courtesy of a Mother’s Day promotion.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) will offer free admission to Massachusetts residents on May 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during its Memorial Day Open House. Tickets are available in person on a first-come, first-served basis. Guests will enjoy music, dance, art making, and more.
The World Afrika Day Block Party will take over Downtown Crossing in Boston on May 24, and the free celebration will bring together DJs, artists, vendors, and more.
The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston offers free admission every Thursday night from 5 to 9 p.m. Advanced tickets are recommended and become available at 10 a.m. the morning of the visit.
Save money this spring with our list of 10 free things to do in Boston in May, which includes concerts, blooming lilacs, and meditation in the Boston Public Garden.
Kristi Palma Culture writer Kristi Palma is a culture writer for Boston.com, focusing on New England travel. She covers airlines, hotels, and things to do across Boston and New England. She is the author of Scenic Six, a weekly travel newsletter.

The cameras on modern smartphones are unmissable, not only because of the ever growing size of their camera bumps, but also because of the amazing picture quality they provide. We know for a fact that many of our readers enjoy mobile photography as much as we do, so we are giving you a chance to shine!
How to submit a photo
You can submit your photo in one of two ways:
A: Via Email: Send the photo to hello@phonearena.com with the subject line “PA Photo of the Week”. Make sure to add your name or PhoneArena username to the email.
B: On Instagram: Upload your photo to your Instagram profile and tag Upload your photo to your Instagram profile and tag @phonearena in your post. Make sure your profile is public in order to use this method.
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Photos submitted by any other means won’t be considered.
What we’re looking for in the best photos?
We want to see your best shots, so choose carefully the photos you want to submit, and don’t just send your whole camera roll. Your photos should be in high resolution and you must include a short description of the photo and information about the smartphone you used and how you edited your photo.
You should only submit photos that you took yourself and you own the copyright of. By submitting your photos, you give PhoneArena permission to share them on our site and/or social media, and/or our mailing lists, with the appropriate credits. We only accept photos taken with smartphones, but it’s okay if you edit your photos on a different device.
There’s no specific topic, so you are free to shoot portraits, landscapes, street photography, or your favorite minimalistic patterns. However, we won’t consider any photos showing adult content, excessive nudity, or illegal activities. Out of all the photos we will choose our favorites every week.
Recommended Stories What’s the timeline? You can submit your photos by 11:59pm CDT on Wednesday, May 7 to be featured in the April 2025 Photo of the Week. If you miss the deadline, you can still submit your photos, but they’ll be considered for the May 2025 Photo of the Week. You should only submit photos that you took yourself and you own the copyright of. By submitting your photos, you give PhoneArena permission to share them on our site and/or social media, and/or our mailing lists, with the appropriate credits. We only accept photos taken with smartphones, but it’s okay if you edit your photos on a different device.There’s no specific topic, so you are free to shoot portraits, landscapes, street photography, or your favorite minimalistic patterns. However, we won’t consider any photos showing adult content, excessive nudity, or illegal activities. Out of all the photos we will choose our favorites every week.You can submit your photos by 11:59pm CDT on Wednesday, May 7 to be featured in the April 2025 Photo of the Week. If you miss the deadline, you can still submit your photos, but they’ll be considered for the May 2025 Photo of the Week.
Ready for some photo shoots? Show us how good you are at using your mobile phone as a photography tool and show our community how it’s done!
We are excited to announce the return of our Photo of the Week initiative where you can show your artistic skills and get featured on PhoneArena and our social media.Clean your lenses, update your editing apps, and go out to take the best possible photos. Then share it with us and we’ll choose the best photo of the week, which we’ll share with our community.

WASHINGTON — The head of the Federal Aviation Administration’s commercial space transportation office is leaving the agency through a deferred resignation program.
The FAA confirmed to SpaceNews that Kelvin Coleman, FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation, is among those who opted into the second round of a program intended to reduce the overall workforce at the Department of Transportation, which includes the FAA. Reuters first reported Coleman’s departure.
“The FAA provided employees with a second chance to voluntarily resign or retire through the Deferred Resignation Program,” an FAA spokesperson told SpaceNews. “The agency is working with employees who accepted the offer to transition their work and complete the offboarding process.”
The department reopened the program at the beginning of April after an initial round of offers just after the start of the Trump administration. The program allows participants to resign but continue to be paid through the end of the fiscal year.
Coleman has led the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, known as AST, since 2022, after being named deputy associate administrator in 2017. During that time, the amount of commercial launch activity has grown enormously, from 23 licensed launches in 2017 to 157 in 2024.
That has put a strain on the office, which the FAA has responded to by seeking additional staff and other resources, as well as streamlining the licensing process. The latter included new launch and reentry licensing regulations, called Part 450, that took effect in 2021.
Industry, though, has complained about the implementation of Part 450, leading the FAA to create a space-related Aerospace Rulemaking Committee, or SpARC, to collect industry input on ways to improve Part 450. FAA officials said at the Commercial Space Conference in February that the SpARC was expected to complete its work by July, and that it was working on other improvements, such as a new electronic system for license applications.
Key member of Congress at the conference, though, raised their own concerns about the pace of licensing. Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), chairman of the House Science Committee, announced there that he and the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), asked the Government Accountability Office to review Part 450.
Industry officials, while frustrated at times with Part 450, have privately expressed concerns about the departure of Coleman and, potentially, other key people at AST. They worry that the loss of senior leadership would exacerbate workforce challenges in the office.
The FAA noted in its statement that employees who have “safety-critical functions” were not eligible for the buyout. “We have a deep reserve of experienced talent, and we ensure orderly transitions by continuously training people to move up and assume leadership roles,” the agency stated.

Winning the new space race with China is contingent on the competitiveness of the United States commercial space industry. While the Chinese space program enjoys the full financial and regulatory backing of its government, the U.S. space industry must grapple with burdensome regulations and oversight conducted by a confusing array of offices buried within multiple federal agencies. These offices are staffed by civil servants and regulators trying to do the right thing every day, but their efforts are often hidden and hampered by the morass of the federal bureaucracy that resists change and slows down innovation.
During the first Trump administration, our nation’s attention on the growing importance of space was brought into focus with the creation of the U.S. Space Force. Similarly, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) brought additional focus on space and satellite issues with the creation of the Space Bureau in 2023, elevating the space industry out of the “International Bureau” and creating a new organization singularly focused on the importance of space to our economy and communications landscape.
Now more than ever, a similar change is needed to focus the U.S. government’s efforts for the commercial space industry. In recognition of the growing domestic commercial space economy, the administration should elevate the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) out of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Office of Space Commerce (OSC) out of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Both offices must report directly to the Office of the Secretary and be given the high-level attention and “seat at the table” needed for an industry so critical to our national and economic security.
Both agencies — AST and OSC — are responsible for promoting and regulating commercial space operations. And both space agencies are hidden within much larger organizations with their own important — but very different — missions. While I’m a space industry advocate and can argue with anyone about the importance of space, I am going to lose that fight every day when comparing space in our daily lives to the importance of accurate weather forecasting and safe air travel. Burying commercial space within other organizations makes it hard for our industry to gain the executive branch’s attention without there being a national disaster in space. This must change.
As a small office within the FAA, AST administers its promotional and licensing functions while being overshadowed by the FAA’s core mission of maintaining a safe and efficient airspace system and certifying air transportation vehicles and operations. Air travel and space launch and reentry are fundamentally different operations. The industries are at different states of maturity and have very different risk paradigms. It does not make sense to group these two modes of transportation under one umbrella simply because a rocket briefly transits the national airspace system. How this manifests is that AST regularly competes with other FAA offices to receive approval to undertake rulemaking proceedings, limiting AST’s ability to update and reform regulations in response to a rapidly innovating industry. In addition, in an often zero-sum budget environment, AST must compete with other FAA organizations to grow the resources and personnel needed to keep up with space licensing activities which have grown by more than 900% in the last decade.
Just a few years ago, the entire Office of Space Commerce was composed of three government employees. Since then, the administration and Congress have broadened the office’s responsibilities to include building the U.S.’s civil space situational awareness capabilities which are essential for mitigating space debris and reducing the likelihood of collisions on-orbit. The office has also taken on licensing and regulating commercial remote sensing satellites. Furthermore, the commercial space industry overwhelmingly supports OSC leading a “mission authorization” framework to provide government oversight and supervision of innovative non-governmental activities in space. Despite its growing role in supporting the commercial space industry, OSC remains a relatively minor office within the NOAA.
Of course, organizational restructuring would not resolve all issues relating to the U.S. government’s oversight of the commercial space industry. Certainly, the ongoing licensing and operational activities of both agencies must be maintained with minimal disruption as the agencies transition. Both should be granted appropriate resources to effectively complete their missions. The collaborative relationship between AST and the FAA Air Traffic Organization must be maintained. However, these short-term considerations should not outweigh the long term benefits associated with a more prominent stature within their respective departments.
The greatest obstacle to U.S. dominance remains overregulation and a lack of attention within the government supporting this increasingly critical sector. By elevating AST to a standalone agency and establishing a Bureau of Space Commerce, the U.S. would clearly demonstrate its commitment to the success of the commercial space industry.
Dave Cavossa is President of the Commercial Space Federation.
SpaceNews is committed to publishing our community’s diverse perspectives. Whether you’re an academic, executive, engineer or even just a concerned citizen of the cosmos, send your arguments and viewpoints to opinion@spacenews.com to be considered for publication online or in our next magazine.The perspectives shared in these op-eds are solely those of the authors.

We’ve got some seriously impressive daily deals to share on Friday, but T-Mobile’s Family Freedom offer tops the list. In addition to saving 20% versus AT&T and Verizon, T-Mobile will give you up to $3,200 to switch! Other top deals on Friday include MacBook Air refurbs for $349, 45% off TP-Link Deco WiFi 7 mesh systems, the Vitamix E310 Explorian blender for $299.95, and more.
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Knight-Swift Transportation lowered its second-quarter outlook on Wednesday and decided against issuing third-quarter guidance as “customers are grappling with a fluid trade policy situation,” resulting in delayed decision making for some while others “manage inventories more tightly.”
The Phoenix-based transportation and logistics provider beat first-quarter expectations, reporting adjusted earnings per share of 28 cents, 4 cents better than the consensus estimate and 16 cents higher year over year. However, analysts lowered earnings expectations for trucking companies as the quarter closed and threats around Liberation Day tariffs ramped.
Knight-Swift’s (NYSE: KNX) first-quarter result was below management’s guidance range of 29 to 33 cents and benefited from gains on equipment sales of $15.5 million, an $8.8 million y/y increase, or a 4-cent tailwind.
Table: Knight-Swift’s key performance indicators – Consolidated
CEO Adam Miller told analysts on a Wednesday call that the first quarter had positive momentum to start but faded as trade uncertainty increased in March. He said some customers importing from China have taken a wait-and-see approach while others canceled orders to avoid being caught on the wrong side of a rapidly changing tariff policy.

Chattanooga, TN – April 22, 2025 – FreightWaves, the leading provider of data, analytics, and news for the global logistics industry, completed its acquisition of PostalMag.com, a premier source for U.S. postal and parcel news. This acquisition enhances FreightWaves’ mission to deliver unparalleled insights across all aspects of the transportation and logistics ecosystem.
PostalMag.com is a trusted platform for professionals, businesses, and stakeholders seeking authoritative reporting on the U.S. Postal Service, parcel delivery trends, logistics innovations, and regulatory updates. Its established readership and reputation for actionable content make it a natural fit for FreightWaves’ growing portfolio of industry-leading media brands.
“We’re thrilled to bring PostalMag.com into the FreightWaves family,” said Craig Fuller, CEO of FreightWaves. “The postal and parcel sector is a critical component of the global supply chain, facing rapid transformation driven by technology, consumer expectations, and market dynamics. PostalMag.com’s expertise strengthens our ability to deliver high-value news and analysis to this vital industry.”
PostalMag.com will continue to operate as a standalone brand under FreightWaves, preserving its editorial independence while leveraging FreightWaves’ advanced data tools, technology, and industry reach. Readers can look forward to enriched content, including deeper market insights, exclusive reports, and enhanced digital experiences, all tailored to the evolving needs of the postal and logistics community.

A slam dunk! If you’re reading this, chances are you live in the Duluth area or you love visiting often.
Now, a new study is confirming something we already knew: Duluth is one of the best places to live in the entire country.
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Livability released a list of the top 100 best places to live in the country for 2025 and of course, Duluth made the list. After all, how could it not?
They have been conducting this list for more than a decade. The whole point of their website is to help people find the best places for the best quality of life.
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Duluth Named Among 100 Best Places To Live For 2025
Of course, if you live here, you already know why it’s so great. Here’s a summary from the study, summarizing in short why Duluth made the cut:
With stunning views of Lake Superior and endless outdoor adventures, Duluth, MN, is the natural home for outdoor enthusiasts. Housing, education and health care are top priorities for residents, fostering a strong sense of community in this scenic city.
Duluth has so much to offer, but there’s a few categories where it really soared here, including: transportation, education and housing, along with cost of living.
In terms of transportation, this study mentions that we are a drivable and somewhat walkable city with short commutes, and have ‘high quality’ schools for people of all ages.
We also have a modest cost of living just below the national average, according to this study.
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Other Minnesota Cities Among Best Places To Live In 2025
While I think Duluth is the best city in the state, other great places also made the list, including Bloomington, which was the most surprising Minnesota city on the list in my opinion. It seems a bit random!
Rochester and Minneapolis also made the list, which are give-ins at this point. Rochester is very cute and has the Mayo Clinic, which always gives them a boost!
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Two Wisconsin Cities Also Named Some Of The Best Places To Live This Year
Only two Wisconsin cities made the list: Appleton and Green Bay! Both are very sweet places, and I absolutely love Green Bay. I have visited there recently. There is so much to do and eat.
10 Reasons To Be Thankful You’re From Duluth

Paddy Pimblett had his breakout moment at UFC 314, and the beginning of the end of his win over Michael Chandler can be seen in slow motion.
Pimblett improved to 7-0 inside the octagon with a bloody stoppage of Chandler in the co-main event of the UFC’s most recent pay-per-view card. The long finishing sequence began with a nasty step-in knee from “The Baddy,” that also opened up a cut under the left eye of the former Bellator champion.
That moment and many more from the card stands out in the UFC’s latest “highlights in slow motion” video on the promotion’s YouTube channel, which can be seen in the video above.
Other highlights include Alexander Volkanovski picking apart Diego Lopes — and also surviving a big knockdown in Round 2 — in his championship regaining main event win, Jean Silva’s big moments on the feet against rival Bryce Mitchell ahead of his second-round submission victory, and much more.

It’s no shock that traveling can be very expensive; between transportation, food, entertainment, and of course, accommodations, one can rack up a healthy credit card bill while seeing the world.
Add to that a huge, free event from America’s most popular sport in a town smaller than the amount of people expected to attend the event, and you’re looking at a recipe for some outrageous pricing.
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NFL Draft in Green Bay
This week, nearly 1 million NFL fans will descend on Green Bay, population 105,744, for the NFL Draft. So much influx of traffic is expected in the state that officials have issued a warning to all of Wisconsin.
The NFL Draft will be centered at Green Bay’s historic Lambeau Field, and most of the activities and events are free, so it makes for an attractive event for fans looking for an affordable way to cheer on their favorite team.
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For fans who didn’t prepare ahead of time for the trip to Green Bay this week, they may find themselves dropping some serious cash for a place to sleep Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night.
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Sky-High Accommodation Costs
A quick search of available hotel rooms in Green Bay shows that A) there aren’t many available, and B) you’ll need the salary of an NFL player to afford a room for the NFL Draft in Green Bay this week.
For instance, the Super 8 near the stadium is charging $339 per night, and for anyone who’s stayed in a Super 8, you know you’re not getting much for that price.
Procrastinating NFL fans looking for nicer accommodations can rent an entire house with four bedrooms for $879 per night, or they can stay at the Oneida Casino Hotel for a mind-blowing $950 per night!
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Economic Boost for Green Bay
For those who own businesses in Green Bay, having the NFL Draft in town during the Packers’ off-season is a blessing, I’m sure. In 2024, it’s estimated that the NFL Draft generated about $213.6 million in total economic impact in Detroit.
11 Wisconsin Cities With Bans Or Restrictions On Dog Breeds The landscape of city regulations on dog breeds has changed over the years, with some cities, towns, and villages in Wisconsin maintaining outright bans on certain breeds, while others have specific restrictions. Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper – TSM Duluth

NEW YORK (AP) — One of the more puzzling live albums of all time came out in 2000. It featured songs from a two-night stand with The Black Crowes and Led Zeppelin icon Jimmy Page. But fans hoping to hear “Hard to Handle” or “She Talks to Angels” were out of luck. Bizarrely, not a single Black Crowes song was on it.
Twenty-five years later, that misstep has been fixed. The 36-track “Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes: Live at the Greek,” restores 16 previously unreleased songs and offers a better window into a unique trans-Atlantic rock combination.
“The whole project was special, very electric for us, very something very alive,” says singer-songwriter Chris Robinson. “I think we were all — for lack of a better word — just abuzz with what we were doing as a band, as an outfit together.”
The live tracks were recorded at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles over two nights in October 1999. It captured musicians who were cooking after previous stops at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom; the Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts; and The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan.
“I think we really felt like it wasn’t the Black Crowes with Jimmy Page. It was one thing, it was one group,” says Chris Robinson. “We really felt connected and tied. I just think we just had a really high energy level, and we knew we were onto something that was powerful.”
An album missing something
The album that came out had Zeppelin tunes like “Celebration Day,” “In My Time of Dying” and “Whole Lotta Love,” as well as old blues and R&B standards like “Woke Up This Morning,” “Sloppy Drunk,” “Mellow Down Easy” and “Shake Your Money Maker,” plus the Yardbirds′ “Shape of Things to Come” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well.”
But no Black Crowes songs were included due to contractual reasons: The band had just left their label and weren’t allowed to use anything from their catalog.
“We were happy with what came out. We were bummed that we weren’t able legally to put our songs on the record,” says songwriter and guitarist Rich Robinson. Adds his brother Chris: “I wasn’t surprised by how inept that decision was.”
“I felt really bad about that because they extended this hand of friendship that I could come and join the band,” says Page. “I felt really sad because I knew the versions that we did were really good of their songs.”
The anniversary edition of “Live at the Greek” includes the once-dropped Black Crowes’ tunes “No Speak No Slave,” ”Hard to Handle,” “Wiser Time,” “Remedy” and a version of “She Talks to Angels,” which Rich Robinson says Page took “to a totally different direction and a new level.” Zeppelin tunes like “Misty Mountain Hop” and “Bring It on Home” are also included.
In addition to Page and the brothers, the band on stage included Sven Pipien on bass, Eddie Harsch on keyboards, Audley Freed on guitar and Steve Gorman on drums. Page says he felt loose and connected with the guys.
“In the past, whenever I knew it was going to be recorded, say in the Zeppelin days, I’d always get really nervous,” he says. “But with this, I didn’t have any of that anxiety or anything. We were on a wave.”
Hits and some soundchecks
Fans will delight in the restored songs but also in some outtakes, including five songs at soundcheck and the never-before-released song Rich Robinson and Page wrote while jamming, called simply “Jams.”
“I think the surprises are the things that really excite us as well,” says Chris Robinson. “We didn’t even know that we had this extra material or the other things that we hadn’t really thought about until this project came around.”
The concerts at The Greek capture a partnership that would endure. Page and the Crowes would go on a full-length American tour in the summer of 2000 and are friends today.
“We were all then joined in the hip when we were playing, and it was just such a joyful event to for me to be playing with these guys, and I guess them to be playing with me, too,” says Page.
The album re-release comes as The Black Crowes are enjoying a creative patch, earning their second career Grammy nod last year for “Happiness Bastards,” nominated for best rock album alongside the Rolling Stones.
Chris Robinson is philosophical about the timing of the anniversary release. Despite the songs sitting in a vault for a quarter of a century, he’s just happy they can now be heard.
“I do have a firm belief that things happen when they’re supposed to happen because they’re supposed to happen,” he says. “And if you play around with that too much, it might not have the same resonance, you know?”
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This story has been updated to correct the years since the release to 25 instead of 26.

We’ve got a bunch of great deals to share with you on Friday, like a rare chance to pick up a previous-generation iPad 10 for just $269. These are definitely going to sell out fast. You can also score a best-selling TP-Link WiFi 6 router for $49.99 with a special coupon, and the Ninja Blast Max portable blender is on sale for $79.99.
See all that and more in this big roundup for Friday, April 18.
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Featured deal: TORRAS Ostand R Air iPhone Cases
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When you pick out a new iPhone case, you probably don’t spend much time reading about the technology that goes into making it. You find a design you like, check out the colors, and maybe read a few user reviews.
There’s nothing wrong with that, and the design alone is enough to make you want to order a brand-new Torras Ostand R Air case for your iPhone. But you should also take a few minutes to learn about the incredible protection you get with this brand-new case, which utilizes aerospace-grade airbag technology to deliver military-grade protection in a slim, lightweight case.
This awesome case is ultra-thin but still offers terrific protection. Plus, it has a built-in grip ring that doubles as a kickstand and TRIPLES as a fidget toy! I seriously can’t stop clicking this thing…
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CNN —
Fatima Hassouna, a war documentarian who had covered the conflict in Gaza on the ground for 18 months and the subject of a new documentary to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival next month, was killed along with seven members of her family in an Israeli strike this week.
“If I die, I want a resounding death, I do not want me in urgent news, nor in a number with a group,” Hassouna wrote in a post on Instagram in August 2024. “I want a death that the world hears, an effect that remains for the extent of the ages, and immortal images that neither time nor space buries,” added the photojournalist.
The health ministry in Gaza told CNN on Friday that Hassouna’s parents survived the strike on Wednesday, but both suffered critical injuries and are in an intensive care unit.
The Palestinian Journalists’ Protection Center (PJPC) said it mourns the loss of Hassouna. It said that the strike that killed her targeted her family’s home on Al-Nafaq Street in Gaza City and also killed several of her family members. It described the attack as a “crime” against journalists and a violation of international law.
“Fatima’s powerful photos documenting life under siege were published globally, shedding light on the human toll of the war,” the center said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday that the target was “a terrorist in Hamas’ Gaza City Brigade” and that steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians. “The terrorist planned and executed terror attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians,” the IDF said in a statement without providing further details.
Fatima’s cousin Hamza Hassouna recounted the strike to CNN Friday. “I was sitting when suddenly two rockets fell, one next to me and one in the living room. The house fell on us and everything was a disaster,” he said.
Hassouna posted her photos on Facebook and Instagram, where she had more than 35,000 followers. Her images documented the challenges of everyday life in Gaza and the threat of living under Israeli bombardment.
She was featured in Sepideh Farsi’s documentary film, Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk, which has been selected to be screened in the ACID section at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in May 2025. A director’s statement describes the film as “a window, opened through a miraculous encounter with Fatima” into the “ongoing massacre of the Palestinians.”
Following the news of Hassouna’s death, the Iranian film director on Friday shared a photo on social media featuring herself on camera with Hassouna, who was smiling. “My last image of her is a smile. I cling to it today,” Farsi wrote alongside the picture.
Speaking to CNN Friday, Farsi said Hassouna was “a very bright and sunny person, had an amazing smile and was an optimistic person by nature.” The film director said she had worked with Hassouna for more than a year on the documentary and that they got to know each other very well.
Farsi said the last time she contacted Hassouna was one day before her death to give her “the happy news” about the documentary. “We both discussed her traveling to France in May to present the documentary in Cannes with me, since she is the main protagonist,” Farsi said.
“I thought it was a mistake when I heard about her death,” Farsi added. “I hope this documentary will shed light on her life in Gaza and serve as a tribute to her memory.”
According to the PJPC, the number of journalists who have died in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has risen to 212, an unprecedented toll according to numerous journalist groups. The organization called on the international community to open an immediate investigation into the incident and hold those responsible to account.
Hassouna’s neighbor, Um Aed Ajur, described Hassouna as proud of the work she was doing. She questioned the strike on her house, saying she and her family “have no connection” to any group. “We have been neighbors for 35 years and have never heard that they are connected to any (group),” she added.
Hassouna’s final post on her Facebook page was a series of photos of Gaza fishermen by the sea last Saturday, less than a week before she was killed. She posted the pictures with a short poem.
“From here you get to know the city. You enter it, but you don’t leave, because you won’t leave, and you can’t,” she wrote.
CNN’s Lauren Izso contributed reporting

The show must go on!
Pop-rocker Benson Boone trolled his Coachella crowd on Friday night when he brought out a surprise guest after last week’s crowd had an underwhelming reaction to iconic Queen guitarist Brian May.
The “Beautiful Things” hitmaker staged a cardboard cutout of the legendary rocker to appear onstage — instead of the actual May — for his flashy cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody” during the festival’s second weekend.
3 Benson Boone featured a cardboard cutout of Queen guitarist Brian May during the second week of Coachella. Youtube
Boone, who wore a fur cape to honor Queen singer Freddie Mercury, began the song at the turquoise piano, performed his signature flip off the Yamaha instrument and turned center stage to watch the cutout of May rise into view after the second verse.
As Boone sang, “I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all,” the cardboard cutout was featured while a real guitarist, ​​Sus Vasquez, played the first guitar solo.
“Brian May!” Boone excitedly shouted.
The Grammy-nominated artist grabbed the cutout during the song’s bridge, slid it past his choir of backup singers and walked it around the bottom part of the stage during the second guitar solo.
The “Beautiful Things” artist placed the image down a few times, but just like the song, it would ironically tip over, “any way the wind blows.”
3 Brian May performs on the Main Stage at Coachella with Benson Boone on April 11, 2025. Coachella/YouTube
A seemingly unfazed Boone grabbed “May” multiple times and held him in the air as he finished the song in the California desert.
“I would like to let you all know, on Brian’s behalf, he would’ve loved to have been here, but he unfortunately had to fly out so, we came up with that idea and he sends his love,” Boone told the crowd as he finished his set with his popular song “Beautiful Things.”
Earlier in the day, Boone teased that there would be a special guest during the hit 1975 song.
“Just wait till you see who I bring up for Bohemian Rhapsody today …” the singer captioned.
Boone playfully posted a TikTok video after the gig, where he lip-synced the famous tune alongside the massive cutout.
“He really said this crowd doesn’t deserve Brian again,” one fan quipped.
“I honestly don’t understand how you brought out one of the best guitar players of all time and THATS how they reacted I would have been screaming my head off,” another said.
“I don’t blame Brian May for flaking from that horrible crowd tbh,” a third responded.
On April 11, Boone showcased May’s talents during the first week of the festival, just seven months after the 77-year-old rocker suffered from a stroke and was temporarily unable to move his arm.
However, the crowd didn’t react as expected and had a lukewarm response to the surprise guest that they may not have recognized.
3 Boone sang “Bohemian Rhapsody” at during a flashy performance at Coachella. TikTok
On Wednesday, May reacted to the moment by sharing a video of the performance on Instagram with the caption, “Well, I’m still processing that moment in Coachella – seems like the world is, too. Mr Boone — you gave us all a gift. Bri.”
The legendary guitarist was not at Friday’s performance because he claimed to be on a NASA Asteroid mission.
“I’m here to take part in an encounter with an ASTEROID that has never been seen by human eyes,” May wrote on Instagram. “Wanna see how the scientists here are thinking it MIGHT look on Sunday when the fly-by happens ? I’ll show you (next post). Meanwhile I’m enjoying Historic Boulder Colorado in the snow ! Bri.”

Most of the post-WrestleMania 41 conversation has been about the main event between Cody Rhodes and John Cena. I get it, but I also don’t want to talk about it anymore. Yeah, I wish things had gone down differently too, but there was enough that worked about WrestleMania that I’d prefer to take some time to celebrate the good.
Over the course of two nights, some WWE superstars worked together to deliver fantastic matches. The second night in particular had one of the hottest starts to a ‘Mania card I’ve ever seen. So, let’s celebrate that. Let’s get away from some of the negativity and talk about the superstars that really showed out.
Before we get there though, let me hype up a few honorable mentions. Jade Cargill vs Naomi was the toughest cut for sure. They were a strong sixth place in my opinion, but with just a little over nine minutes, they didn’t get quite enough time to get going. Job well done though. I’m also not going to include Randy Orton vs Joe Hendry, which was a ton of fun but in a more comedic and gimmicky sort of way. El Grande Americano and Rey Fénix also did their job, but with a last minute switch out and less than eight minutes of time, there was no way they could get up to the level needed to make this list.
5. Jacob Fatu Vs LA Knight
A lot of people felt like this match would feature some shenanigans that would lead into a feud between Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa, but sometimes you just need to let your rising stars grab a title and run with it. Fatu is a future WrestleMania main eventer. With all due respect to Bron Breakker, he’s the most exciting new star to make his main roster debut since Gunther. It was terrific to see him get his moment here.
But LA Knight deserves a lot of praise too. He held his own with the Samoan Werewolf and showed he’s perhaps one of the few mid-card guys on the roster who could keep the crowd on his side against Fatu. That’s no easy feat, nor were some of the more difficult moves pulled off during this match, particularly the moonsault into a BFT. Saturday, as a whole, had some struggles, but this was a clear bright spot.
4. Damian Priest Vs Drew McIntyre In A Sin City Street Fight
There were so many complaints about this match a month or so out from WrestleMania. Many fans felt Drew McIntyre deserved to be higher on the card and to be put in a more prominent position. I get that. I think he should be given another World Championship run ASAP, but put some respect on Damian Priest’s name. He’s one of the strongest and most reliable workers on the entire roster. He and Drew found a way to sell the program with consistent storytelling leading into ‘Mania, and they really delivered with a very good match here.
Both men willingly took some big bumps and consistent punishment throughout, but that was balanced well with some good combinations and more intricate sequences where they proved how capable they are as technical wrestlers. Plus, we got a fun viral moment from Drew McIntyre with another mid-match tweet and some excellent post-match selling from Damian Priest after the Claymore onto the chair. Job well done by everyone involved. Hopefully this’ll catapult Drew into another World Championship run and lead to Damian having another extended program with a top guy in the company.
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3. Bron Breakker Vs Penta Vs Dominik Mysterio Vs Finn Bálor For The Intercontinental Championship
I think Dominik Mysterio celebrating his victory will be remembered as the single best and most memorable thing from this entire WrestleMania. He’s been doing fantastic heel work for years, and it’s been obvious for a long time that the boos he was getting were a sign of respect. He wasn’t getting go home heat. He was getting appreciated for his good work. So, job well done. I can’t say enough nice things about him or the moment he earned.
I can definitely say more nice things about the rest of this match too. It may have only been ten and a half minutes, but it was really fast-paced and well-constructed. Everyone got some really fun spots, and Carlito really delivered in his role too, as he interfered several times and took a very memorable spear spot from Bron Breakker. Also a big shout out is due for Penta who is an absolute star and to Finn Bálor who once again played the hard luck loser.
2. Seth Rollins Vs Roman Reigns Vs CM Punk
I wasn’t the world’s biggest fan of the night one crowd, but they really made this feel like a big fight atmosphere and stayed plugged in throughout the entire match, which was more than thirty minutes. Most of the credit for that, however, should go to the three performers, who wrestled like they knew this match was going to be watched and rewatched for decades to come. Every spot felt important, and every near fall felt like edge of your seat drama.
Unlike the night two main event finish which was also designed to be cinematic, this one really worked. The interaction between Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns after he betrayed CM Punk and later Paul Heyman and Seth Rollins after he betrayed Roman Reigns was fantastic. Everyone involved here has been in huge moments on the biggest stages in the past, and they really showed that experience here. At most ‘Manias this would have been the fight of the weekend.
1. Iyo Sky Vs Bianca Belair Vs Rhea Ripley For The Women’s World Championship
I just looked at the official time and am shocked this didn’t even go fifteen minutes. Each of the women got some really good extended interactions with each other, and each one did some really good character work and told a believable story. I particularly loved Bianca leaning into the boos and telling the fans they needed to be louder. It gave her character ownership over what was happening and made her look empowered.
The in-ring work was just fantastic too. There were so many combinations where one move flowed into another move, and it was beautiful to watch these three superstars all show off their various movesets which are unique and visually different from each other. Wrestling is best when there’s obvious variance, and this match featured so much of it.
Bianca, Rhea and Iyo are three of the greatest female superstars in the history of this business. All three of them sold out to make each other look as good as possible, and all three wrestled to improve the quality of the match, not to make themselves look good. I’ll remember this as one of my favorite ‘Mania matches ever, and I think there are a lot of people right there with me.

There are dozens of key moments in the history of

CNN —
The logos of Big Tech companies and key associations were featured prominently Monday at the White House Easter Egg Roll, offering an unprecedented scene and use of the grounds to promote private business.
Children danced on the grass as a military band performed Martha and the Vandellas’ “Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide” atop a stage emblazoned with eggs and rabbits sporting the YouTube logo. And dozens of attendees lined up to take a photo in Meta’s tent, which featured a White House backdrop and a locator icon in the style of Instagram.
All money raised from the sponsorships will go toward the nonprofit White House Historical Association. But the sponsorship opportunities, which were first reported by CNN in March, have prompted concern from ethics and legal experts, as well as from White House officials on both sides of the aisle, because the solicitations run counter to long-established regulations prohibiting the use of public office for private gain.
Those opportunities included “naming rights for key areas or elements” and “sponsor logos featured on event signage,” according to a document from an outside production company called Harbinger that was obtained by CNN.
Guests sit at a station hosted by Amazon on the South Lawn of the White House before President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump participate in the White House Easter Egg Roll. Alex Brandon/AP
The sponsorships underscore the lengths to which businesses have sought to cultivate relationships with the Trump administration — even amid the uncertainty and upheaval of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. That was particularly poignant as a volunteer in a white apron facilitated a photo opportunity while a toddler and his parents rang a mock bell sponsored by the New York Stock Exchange, as the Dow tumbled more than 1,000 points.
Also on Monday, families walked under an arch made of hundreds of fresh carrots featuring “International Fresh Produce Association” branding. A volunteer handed out Slinky toys in a “play garden” space provided by The Toy Association.
A “reading nook” tent was set up with a couch and Amazon signage.
Yet when the time came for first lady Melania Trump to read “Bunny with a Big Heart,” she was far from the branding and logos, at a different reading nook in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, decorated with florals and a pastel White House Easter Egg Roll sign.
Private contributions covered activity booths, artists, music, vendors, staging, equipment and décor, said a source familiar with the planning who was granted anonymity to detail specifics of the funding mechanisms.
Any excess funding raised, that source said, will go toward similar White House events, such as Halloween festivities and the Fourth of July.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has taken the reins of the future of Penn Station and we, as close chroniclers of the pitfalls of Penn for decades, shout with great enthusiasm: “Go, sir, go!” The place, mismanaged by Amtrak for more than a half century and divided into balkanized fiefdoms, is an embarrassment to America’s premier city.
Duffy, having pushed aside the MTA as the lead agency for a better Penn, must as his first immediate order of business cancel Amtrak’s partial closure of the vital East River Tunnel, connecting Penn to Queens, Long Island and New England.
New Yorkers like Rep. Elise Stefanik (who enlisted all the N.Y. House GOP delegation) have been begging Amtrak to avoid a closure that will kill 25% of all service between Albany and Manhattan for the next three years, hurting constituents of Stefanik and many others.
Also wiped out will be 10% of peak rush hour trains into Penn on the LIRR, hurting constituents of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
Even the delightful excursion tours by the nonprofit United Railroad Historical Society of N.J. using vintage rail cars, like the meticulously restored historical 1948 Hickory Creek observation car built by the New York Central, have been eliminated for years to come.
And that assumes that three years won’t be six years.
And even worse, having only three of the four East River tubes working will create a total meltdown when there is a normal glitch with equipment or signals or tracks.
The closure must not happen, not for six years or three years or even a day and Duffy must order Amtrak to find another way to repair the tunnel. It’s like having to repave an important road and barring all traffic for three years. Nonsense, do the work nights and weekends, keeping normal service in place.
That is how every other railroad in the world does repairs. Ask the Brits. Ask the Swiss. Ask the Japanese. The Port Authority spent $600,000 on a study from the experts at London Bridge Associates proving that nights and weekends repairs work perfectly.
On Tuesday, we asked the leaders of Amtrak about the East River Tunnel closure starting April 28 and they themselves are worried.
Executive Vice President Gery Williams: “It is going to be very tricky. It is going to be challenging. And, just as you said, things will happen in one of those other three tunnels.”
Chair Tony Coscia said: “What we are doing in the East River Tunnel is likely to inconvenience a lot of people. There is not a day that goes by that we don’t revisit our assumptions to make sure that they are accurate, or can be improved or whether there are operational things we can take into place relative to inconveniencing people less. Every day we are revisiting whether or not there is something we missed. Every day we are revisiting is there a way we can stage things a little bit differently to make less of a burden on people.”
We asked about nights and weekend repairs and Coscia said: “That, and everything else is on the table.”
Mr. Duffy, make Amtrak take it off the table and put it into practice and save the rides for countless New Yorkers. If Amtrak can’t do it, bring in someone who can.

President Donald Trump and I recognize that U.S. maritime power is now more important than ever. Novel seaways are opening new trade routes in the Arctic, and new canals are connecting distant places. Innovation in waterway technology is unlocking new development opportunities and potential conflicts.
That’s why the president signed an executive order Wednesday to revive our maritime industry from a decades-long decline. The Department of Transportation will carry out this order by facilitating overdue investments in our ports, boosting domestic production of both commercial and defense vessels, and expanding the fleet of mariners to command this new armada effectively, safeguarding the freedom of the seas.
In 2022, U.S. shipyards produced just five large commercial vessels. Across the Pacific, China built nearly 1,800, with Beijing dominating more than half the global market. Our national security depends on Trump’s order to reverse this dangerous trend, with the Transportation Department’s Maritime Administration on the front line of the president’s rescue plan.
There used to be more than 300 U.S. shipyards just half a century ago that regularly released hundreds of big, beautiful American-flagged ships out to sea. Today, roughly 20 public and private shipyards remain, with major production sites shut down from coast to coast.
New York’s Brooklyn Naval Shipyard launched some of the military’s most powerful warships, employing 70,000 at its peak during World War II. The shipyard was decommissioned, however, in a wave of closures that paralyzed American shipbuilders. The jobs went the way of the steel mills: forgotten and abroad.
But low boat production is only half the problem. Even if U.S. shipyards produced the same number of ocean-faring ships they used to, America lacks enough mariners to sail them. Today’s mariner workforce is just a fraction of the 243,000 who served during WWII, and the United States Merchant Marine Academy only graduates around 200 every year. Americans need more jobs, and America needs more mariners.
Recently, I got an up-close look at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. Since WWII, this institution has operated as a critical training ground to prepare mariners today for the rough waters of tomorrow. But I saw a dilapidated campus where first-rate students are trained under second-class conditions. Mold contaminates dorms and classrooms. Tar drips from the ceilings. Water damage is everywhere. The academy has become a disturbing reflection of our maritime industry after decades of neglect.
The Department of Transportation is eager to lead this once-in-a-generation chance to build back now. The president’s order has specifically tasked our department’s Maritime Administration to spearhead six key initiatives to usher in this Trump-era maritime renaissance.
First, the Maritime Administration will establish a shipbuilding financial incentives program to catalyze investment in commercial vessels. Second, the administration will create maritime opportunity zones to bring foreign and domestic capital to America’s shipyards. Third, the Maritime Administration will develop plans with other agencies to establish demand for U.S. shipping. Fourth, we will equip our merchant marine academies with the resources to train the next generation of sailors. Fifth, we will improve procurement efficiency. And finally, the Maritime Administration will work to proliferate the number of commercial vessels released from American shipyards.
The president directed the Maritime Administration to lead these initiatives for good reason. While nearly every ship from the military is delivered late and over budget, the Maritime Administration has consistently completed projects on schedule and within means since WWII. Every vessel ordered from the Maritime Administration has been delivered on time and under budget since April 2020, offering a model for the military to produce ships more efficiently. The Maritime Administration is the only federal agency with a holistic view of the entire industry and is best positioned to coordinate such a herculean effort.
While the U.S. decommissioned wartime shipyards throughout the 20th century, Beijing accelerated the development of its industrial base. Make no mistake, the U.S. is in a sea race with the Chinese in the 21st century as much as we were in a space race with the Soviets through the 20th. And we are losing. Beijing’s rapid expansion in shipbuilding has allowed China to eclipse the size of the U.S. Navy. As of 2022, China’s battle force included 351 warships compared to 294 operated by the U.S. Navy. But it’s not just military vessels China is producing to challenge American hegemony.
Today, China is the world’s largest shipbuilder, producing more than half of the world’s commercial market. In contrast, the U.S.’s share has declined to just 0.1%. Last year alone, a single Chinese shipbuilder produced more commercial vessels than the entire U.S. industry since the end of WWII, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
A robust maritime industry also offers advantages beyond military power and influence over commercial shipping. Deep-sea reserves of key resources represent a $20 trillion opportunity on this final frontier of planetary exploration. While China competes at the surface, Beijing looks down as much as we look up. New technology is unlocking these rare mineral deposits across the ocean floor, and the Chinese want to be the first to tap them. Earlier this year, China approved construction of the world’s first deepwater “space station” 2,000 meters below the surface to discover how to reach these resources.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PULLS FUNDING FOR HIGH-SPEED RAIL BETWEEN DALLAS AND HOUSTON
The U.S. will need to rebuild a competitive maritime industry if we’re going to maintain competitiveness with our most powerful adversary. The strength of our naval forces propelled us through WWII, and the strength of our mariners will safeguard us in future conflicts. The status quo is unacceptable, and our own national security is at stake.
The inauguration of a new Trump-era in maritime dominance is a fundamental feature of the golden age of transportation.
Sean P. Duffy is the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

Here’s an issue for the new Trump appointees to the Homeland Security Advisory Council: deep-sixing the Transportation Security Administration’s airport-screening work.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently ended collective bargaining with the union representing TSA agents after DHS found that more TSA employees are busy doing “full-time union work” than actually screening passengers on any given day, while 60% of “poor performers” don’t get fired.
But as any beleaguered traveler can contest, TSA’s issues go far beyond that: Virtually the whole security/screening apparatus is a pointless circus.
Having understaffed teams of low-wage workers screen millions of air passengers a day brings painfully long lines, contradictory and arbitrary “rules” (Are we taking off shoes today? Laptops out of the bags? It depends!) and countless invasive searches that turn up nothing but pocket lint.
Take off your belt, empty your water bottles, throw out your aerosols, step aside for a random hand-swab — it’s all security theater, and all for nothing.
Yes, TSA still catches thousands of guns each year, some even in carry-on — but it evidently misses even more.
Getty Images
In 2017 covert tests, DHS sent ringers through airport security lines with fake weapons: TSA agents reportedly failed to catch 80% of the fakes — an improvement on two years before, when 95% of weapons slipped through.
It’s been this way in testing since the agency’s founding.
How is this more than a make-work program?
Perhaps nothing reveals the scam more than the fact that for $78 you can buy your way out of the worst of the experience by signing up for PreCheck — or cough up $179 a year and skip to the front of the line with a private company like Clear.
Everyone else gets to sweat about missing their flight.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has been calling for Congress to abolish the TSA for years; his colleagues should listen.
At the least, privatize the screening work: That’s already the case at 20 US airports, including San Francisco and Orlando.
Set up to provide a sense of security amid the post-9/11 panic, TSA is still clunking along with little rhyme and less reason because that’s how government agencies roll.
America needs something less intrusive and less onerous — more efficient, competent and pleasant.

People exit and enter Pennsylvania Station in New York City in March 2017. The federal government announced this week it has taken control of the station’s $7 billion renovation project. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
April 19 (UPI) — The Federal Railroad Administration has taken control of the $7 billion renovation of New York City’s Penn Station rail hub from the city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the move on Thursday and said it will save taxpayers an estimated $120 million.

Four people were killed Saturday morning when a small plane crashed in central Illinois after hitting a set of power lines.
The crash occurred at around 10:15 a.m. local time on County Line Road in Trilla, Illinois, about three miles south of Mattoon in Coles County, according to Illinois State Police and the Coles County Sheriff’s Office. Trilla is about 200 miles south of Chicago.
The National Transportation Safety Board said a Cessna 180 single-engine plane struck powerlines and crashed into a field. The Coles County Coroner said the two men and two women aboard the plane were killed in the crash. Their names have not been released while authorities work to contact their families.
Some remnants of the plane ended up on County Line Road after the crash. The Coles County Sheriff’s office said the road would remain closed at least until Sunday while the FAA and NTSB investigate.
A single-engine plane with four people onboard crashed Saturday morning in Coles County, Illinois.
Kynnedi Goldstein heard the crash.

Beginning May 7, the Transportation Security Administration will no longer accept state-issued identifications that are not REAL ID compliant at security checkpoints, according to the Idaho Transportation Department.
All airline passengers 18 years and older, including TSA PreCheck members, must present REAL ID-compliant identification, also known as the Star Card in Idaho, or another acceptable ID, such as a passport, at TSA security checkpoints.

WALNUT CREEK, CA — Did you catch Walnut Creek bursting with color Tuesday? It was a vibrant sight when local seniors from The Kensington brought downtown to life with hand-painted pianos to celebrate World Art Day.
It’s Your Shot: Pictures You Take and We Share
Have you got the next incredible photo? If you have an awesome photo of nature, breathtaking scenery, kids caught being kids, a pet doing something funny or something unusual you happen to see, we’d love to feature it on Patch. We’re looking for high-resolution images that reflect the beauty of the East Bay and show off your unique talents.
So, bring ’em on. No selfies. Not here.

The event featured 28 booths
Kwah Hall in Nak’azdli Whut’en was abuzz with activity April 9, as Centerra Gold, WorkBC Centre Fort St. James and the Nak’azdli Education Department jointly hosted a job fair aimed at enriching the career prospects of the local community.
The event saw an impressive turnout, featuring 28 booths and providing a platform for networking and career exploration.
Nak’azdli Employment and Training enhanced the welcoming atmosphere by offering complimentary drinks and snacks to attendees. The fair showcased a diverse array of industries, from mechanical services and local construction to real estate and job training resources.
This variety not only facilitated local networking but also offered community members insightful glimpses into the thriving industries in their vicinity.
Overall, the job fair proved to be a remarkable achievement, underscoring the commitment of the organizers to fostering economic growth and employment opportunities within the Nak’azdli Whut’en community and surrounding Fort St. James area.

SAN ANTONIO – What became obvious in more than three hours of legacy companies and wet-behind-the-ears startups touting technology solutions for 3PLs at the Transportation Intermediaries Association’s meeting is that artificial intelligence is absolutely real right now, and one of the next battles will be over what might be called the last mile of technology.
The presentations came during a Media Day at the TIA’s annual Capital Ideas Conference, a day before the full launch of the largest gathering of freight brokers. One by one, nearly 20 companies laid out the capabilities of new or near-new technologies and capabilities they had launched to serve the 3PL industry.
While it was clear that the capabilities of generative AI are no longer the technology of the future and very much part of the present, it was just as obvious that the overlap of what many of these solutions do, which has always been a feature of technology products aimed at the supply chain, doesn’t go away in the AI world. That’s where the “final mile” comes in, those small capabilities that the tech suppliers look to create to differentiate themselves from what is already becoming a crowded field.
For example, several presentations touted applications that would use AI to intake the never-ending stream of emails, text messages and phone calls a brokerage receives from drivers, other carrier employees or shippers. The new tools can use generative AI to formulate a response that meets the queries of the supply chain without consuming brokers’ time, leaving them to more productive tasks. So far, there is no shortage of companies offering this service.
David Bell, the founder and CEO of CloneOps AI, whose company presented at the Media Day, said the unusual name of his startup – which launched its product in conjunction with the conference – came from the oft-heard wish that during times of worker overload, some of a company’s more productive employees could be cloned.
Emails and voicemails and texts…oh my!
“Your emails are stacking up, your phone calls are on hold, your voicemail is getting full, your texting is getting full, and you’re a one person show trying to keep your head above water,” Bell said in an interview with FreightWaves, describing the situation that several companies face.
But with other companies offering similar AI products that take in communications and respond to them without human intervention when possible, the question to Bell was, how do you separate yourself from the pack? How does your last mile differ from that of others?
Bell spoke of his experience as the owner of Smith Cargo, a consolidator, and then the founder of Lean Solutions (which also presented at Media Day.)
But it wasn’t just his background, Bell said. For example, he boasted of CloneOps’ voice identification capabilities, which he said “is going to prevent fraud right from the start.” If a call comes in from a “fake carrier trying to get a load, it’s going to identify if they’re authorized to speak and if they’re authorized to book a load on behalf of the carrier.”
The goal, Bell said, is to “create a bad actors database of the voices that are actually stealing the loads.”
Parade attended the conference but wasn’t a presenter at TIA Media Day. However, its AI-driven offering is not duplicated by any of the companies that did present, as its capabilities involve using AI to provide what it calls capacity management.
Parade, which founder and CEO Anthony Sutardja said launched in 2019, uses a variety of tools to develop a reservoir of information about carriers that AI then can use to provide information to brokers looking to secure capacity.
At its launch, Sutardja said, it used truck list emails to populate its data. “We took the natural language processing technology that existed back then to start structuring it into available trucks for matching,” he said. “That was one way of getting capacity,” he said.
With the addition of more FreightTech solutions being adopted by brokers, Sutardja said, all of them create further sources of capacity that can then be interpreted by AI to give a broker a look at available capacity that might be a match for the lane that is seeking trucking services.
The new features launched in conjunction with the TIA meeting are marketed under a product called CoDriver. The capabilities recently launched were described by Sutardja as a “voice AI agent that can help have a conversation between the broker and carrier to discuss an available load, check if the carrier is qualified and check if it meets the load requirements.”
While capacity management capabilities are the core of Parade’s business, it also has a pricing product called Advantage.
Parade and CloneOps both had booths on the TIA exhibition hall floor, which is dominated by FreightTech companies. CloneOps was also the sponsor of the conference’s Wi-Fi; its brand marketing popped up whenever an attendee accessed that service.
Below is a summary of presenters at Media Day besides CloneOps.
OTR Solutions has multiple financial tools for the industry, including factoring and fuel cards. COO Grace Maher introduced OTR 365, which she called an “always-on network of interconnected financial products delivering intelligent solutions and powerful technologies.” What this means for drivers getting paid, she said, is “no more cutoff times for same-day funding, no more weekend or bank holiday delays.”
Pallet’s AI solution is in the already crowded field of companies using AI to process and aid in what Jason Feng of the company’s marketing team described as automation of “any sort of repetitive workflow, including order entry, RFQ processing, track-and-trace and reconciliation.” Its product is called Copilot.
The role of AI “agents,” essentially human-like robots with an element of a personality, came up several times during TIA Media Day. At TMS provider Revenova, the agent’s name is Artimus, introduced earlier this year. Marketing manager Mike Marut said the main strength of AI agents is that they can be tailored to the capabilities of a brokerage. “It’s customized and configured to what you do in your operational processes, but it’s going to be different from everybody else,” he said.
Michael Caney of Highway spoke about an upgrade to the company’s visibility solution that combines it with the company’s security validation, which is at the heart of Highway’s rapid success in the market so far. It helps answer a key question that brokers need to answer to fight fraud: “Are they [the carrier] within the geographic location of the load that they’re looking at?”
One company whose AI-driven product didn’t have any obvious matches was Qued. Based on the pitch from President Tom Curee, it also is focused on using AI to help manage the stream of communications, but its focus was on one particular task: appointments. “Imagine all these different appointments that have to be scheduled,” he said. “They’re in web portals, they’re in emails or phone calls.” The AI solution at Qued is designed to tackle that with new technology.
Crum & Foster rolled out new ways of accessing its TripExcess insurance offering that sells insurance to cover a high-value load whose value exceeds the coverage in a carrier or broker’s insurance policies.
Fleetworks introduced a solution that involves AI-produced conversations that can take the place of human interaction with phones and email for more routine tasks. Its new product also involves an AI-driven tool that can speak multiple languages.
Freight Claims is a new company that will use AI and machine learning to produce automated workflows dealing with claims, which founder and CEO Mike Schember said was “the last department to get any resources in any organization.”
Get Real Rates, according to its co-founder Omar Singh, is using automation to generate rate information, “fast forwarding automation that I thought was going to happen years ago, but it’s taken a little bit longer.”
Alfonso Quijano, CEO of Lean Solutions, introduced StudioQ. TalentQ is the first application under the StudioQ set of AI-driven solutions that Quijano said give its customers an “unprecedented level of visibility to access talent.” It also aids in the onboarding process “from start to finish, ensuring your new hire is fully prepared to thrive in their role,” Quijano said.
Greenscreens.ai CEO Dawn Favier, fresh off the company’s announced planned acquisition by Triumph Capital (NASDAQ: TFIN), said her company will be adding an AI-driven product, Intuition. “Pricing long-term freight contracts has always been a major challenge in the freight industry,” she said. Using AI and drawing on historical data, Intuition will build market forecasts on lanes out to 12 months in advance, greatly speeding up a broker’s ability to respond to a longer-term RFP as opposed to the spot market.
Happy Robot is rolling out Bridge, “a control panel to run the operations across your entire business,” Catherine Dean said in presenting the product. Bridge, she said, “is like a connection point between your teams and your businesses, shared knowledge and task execution.”
Steve Kochan of HaulPay discussed his company’s financing activities, which involve factoring and payments among other services, with a special focus on fighting fraud. He was presenting at Media Day because of the first update of the company’s app and user interface in more than six years.
Among the presentations by so many new companies was a veteran: Infinity Software Solutions, a TMS provider in business for 25 years. CEO Josh Asbury said the company was taking a “big swing” in introducing WorkerOS, which he described as “unifying all the different data, all the different data streams that workers have, the different data pipelines, into a common pool of data.”
Another veteran company that presented was McLeod Software. Its new AI product is MPact.RespondAI. It was described as McLeod’s first AI solution, and its functionality is targeted at what already looks like a crowded field: processing voluminous levels of all types of communication.
Rose Rocket’s TMS has added its own human-named feature, Ted, to its TMS.AI system, which was introduced earlier this year. It’s another entry into the battle for cleaning up communications like emails that pour into brokerages every day. “You get reduced time spent on manual entry by up to 20%, and new users of Rose Rocket will onboard onto our system 70% faster,” field marketing manager Neena Salifu said of Ted.
David Ely, chief product officer at broker-focused Tai Software, used the word “flexibility” to describe his company’s new offering, which was introduced at the TIA. Tai believes, Ely said, that brokers are “forced to work around preset work flows, fixed fields, static period logic, and it makes true automation impossible without costly development.” The flexibility he said is being built into Tai will “let them define their business rules, trigger automated workloads and adapt the platform to fit their unique operations.”
Michael Davidian, the vice president of business operations at TrueNorth, introduced Loadie, its “virtual dispatcher” that takes information posted to the company’s load board and seeks to use AI to match it with a carrier. “Our AI doesn’t just wait,” Davidian said. “It works to match loads with quality carriers in real time, and the broker can specify what type of carriers match to that broker’s load. This can be based on authority compliance criteria, past relationships with that broker and a variety of other customizable factors.”
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The latest White Lotus-adjacent controversy is actually a Saturday Night Live controversy. This weekend’s episode of SNL featured a parody of the HBO comedy-drama series titled

The first weekend of Coachella 2025 featured some of the hottest stars, including JENNIE, LISA and Cardi B. Tyla brought out Becky G for her set, Lady Gaga delivered a monster performance, and Megan Thee Stallion surprised the crowd by bringing out Ciara, and more! Keep watching to catch everything you missed at Coachella!
Who was your favorite performance of the weekend? Let us know in the comments!
Tetris Kelly:
From on stage with the hottest sets and surprises to backstage with the artists themselves and the hottest parties in the desert, we are taking you to Coachella in Billboard All Access Coachella. Day 1 was all about LISA and Lady Gaga, but before we hit the Polo Fields, Billboard hung out with White Claw and Maren Morris on Thursday night. Then on Friday, we got the day started with some shopping and getting refreshed at 818. Damien kept all the vibes going at Yuma before we got to see Anyma join Yeat at Sahara. Lisa slayed Sahara with her hits and some new ‘Alter Ego’ tracks, and even XG was excited for Lady Gaga. It was a spectacle, as expected, for Gaga.
Some of the desert’s hottest moments came at night, and Nylon had festivalgoers and stars dancing the night away. We also dropped by Zenyara for Desert Nights.
Day 2 kicked off by getting charmed with Pandora at a relaxing oasis. Over at the Ace Hotel, Billboard and Amazon teamed up with comedian and musical improviser Reggie Watts, who pulled up and offered attendees some sick beats on top of a colossal-sized couch.
And, of course, the famous Revolve Fest with Cardi B herself! Then we got to go say hi to ENHYPEN before their big set. The K-pop kings lit up the stage with hot choreo, and the fans loved it all. After the set, they were so happy.
Keep watching for more!

SAN ANTONIO – The one consistent theme in opening addresses at the Capital Ideas Conference of the Transportation Intermediaries Association was that freight fraud remains a major problem for brokers, and there are few signs of progress in combating it.
Two years after then-TIA President Anne Reinke described double brokering as “out of control,” none of the three TIA officials who spoke at this year’s gathering gave any hint that fraud is on the decline. Reinke’s comments in 2023 were directed at double brokering; this year it was fraud in general, of which double brokering is one part.
The meeting here with more than 1,500 attendees is the first for Chris Burroughs as president of the TIA. He moved into the top slot last September after Reinke took over leadership of the Intermodal Association of North America.
Burroughs, in his first remarks to a TIA conference as president, said the organization has been “tackling this problem” since the 2012 passage of a federal antifraud law. He noted it was one of the first pieces of legislation he had worked on at TIA after joining the organization that year.

The Spanish family killed in a horrific helicopter crash into the Hudson River had hired the high-flying sightseeing tour as part of a birthday celebration, officials said Friday, as the federal National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating whether the puzzling plunge was caused by a bird strike.
While a large section of the doomed helicopter had been recovered, divers were still scouring the bottom of the river for the copter’s main rotor and tail rotor, which flew off the chopper before it crashed, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said at a Friday afternoon press conference. The entire roof structure is also missing.
“This is the first full day of our investigation, and as you can see, our investigators are still out there,” Homendy told reporters. “We have a lot of information, but we do not speculate. We need to confirm the information. That is a process that takes time.”
Avenues of investigation will include “reports of a large flock of birds in the area shortly before the crash,” Homendy said. Early speculation before the NTSB arrived was that the helicopter fell victim to a bird strike.
“We are aware of the reports and it is something we will be looking into,” she said. “Everything is on the table. We don’t rule anything out. We will not speculate on a preliminary cause.”
Tourists Agustin Escobar, the CEO of Rail Infrastructure at Siemens Mobility, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three young children were all killed in the crash, along with pilot Sean Johnson, after pieces of the helicopter, including the rotor, appeared to break off in mid-air. The helicopter overturned and dropped from the sky, hitting the water upside down.
FDNY divers recovered the victims, but no one could be saved.
The family came to New York City to celebrate the birthday of one of their children, Mayor Adams said Friday.
“We know the ages of the young people involved — 4, 8 and 10 — and unfortunately the 8-year-old it was his birthday today. So this was probably part of a normal tourist attraction of seeing the city from the skyline, but just a real unfortunate situation,” Adams said on Fox 5’s “Good Day New York.”
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop wrote on X that Camprubi Montal was also celebrating her 40th birthday this week.
Escobar was in New York City on business and had his family fly to the Big Apple so they could “extend the trip a couple days in NYC,” the Jersey City mayor said.
“The brother in law is flying in this AM and we are working with [the medical examiner] to expedite release of the family to fly back to Spain,” Fulop said. “Take a moment today and think about this family and your family. These situations are always very difficult and sad.”
Johnson, 36, had radioed moments before plummeting into the water that he was desperately low on fuel and was heading back to the helipad, New York Helicopter CEO Michael Roth told The Telegraph.
The pilot made the radio transmission just before the 3:15 p.m. crash on the New Jersey side of the river. The helicopter took off from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in lower Manhattan at about 2:50 p.m.
“He [the pilot] called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn’t arrive,” Roth told The Telegraph. “I got a call from my manager and my downtown heliport and she said she heard there was a crash, and then my phone blew up from everybody [calling]. Then one of my pilots flew over the Hudson and saw the helicopter upside down.”
“The death of the child, of any human being, is a monumental disaster,” Roth told The Telegraph. “We’re all devastated. Every employee in our company is devastated. My wife has not stopped crying.”
On Friday, New York Helicopter Tours in a statement said that it was “profoundly saddened by the tragic accident and loss of life that occurred on April 10, 2025, involving one of our helicopters in the Hudson River. At New York Helicopter Tours, the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew has always been the cornerstone of our operations. Our immediate focus is supporting the families and their loved ones affected by this tragedy, as well as fully cooperating with the FAA and NTSB investigations.”
The helicopter that crashed was built in 2004, FAA records show. It was a Bell 206 LongRanger IV, a slightly longer version of the original Bell 206 that can seat up to seven people — five passengers and two crew members.
Investigators had already recovered Johnson’s logbooks, which show the former Navy SEAL had a commercial pilot certificate and had logged 788 hours of flight time by the end of March, although it wasn’t immediately clear if all of that flight time was in the same helicopter that crashed.
A video on Johnson’s Facebook page posted last month shows him flying a Bell 206 helicopter over the Manhattan skyline.
“When it all comes together,” he wrote.
One of the first steps the investigation team will do is order New York Helicopter to freeze all of its pilot and maintenance records to make sure that the company has answered all “periodic directives from the FAA,” Peter Goelz, a former managing director for the NTSB told CNN Friday.
“This was clearly a catastrophic failure and very unusual, where the videotape [showed] the aircraft going down without its tail rotor and having lost its main rotors,” Goelz told CNN. “There are error-worthiness directives that told the company to check certain parts of its rotor engine assembly. And the FAA and the NTSB will want to see that those work — that that work has been completed.”
Video of the crash from different angles may also help investigators discover if something struck the helicopter before it fell apart, he said. The NTSB was asking any witnesses with video of the crash to email them at witness@ntsb.gov.
The copter in the fatal crash first headed up the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge, where it turned around and then headed back south, flying along the New Jersey side of the river before suddenly dropping upside-down into the river near Hoboken, Mayor Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Thursday.
The flight lasted less than 18 minutes, officials said.
New York Helicopter filed for bankruptcy in 2019, claiming it had hundreds of thousands in debts. A large portion of the debts, about $114,000, were for “repair services.”
The company was allowed to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, where a trustee was assigned to oversee the liquidation of some assets and prioritize debts. The bankruptcy ended in 2022, according to court records.
New York Helicopter has mixed reviews on Yelp, with at least one customer complaining that the company didn’t do proper safety checks before takeoff. Other customers said employees were rude and charged unexpected fees.
“Extreme negligence of security protocols that must be associated with a helicopter ride,” said customer Kumar Sourabh, who visited the Big Apple from California. “I have been in a helicopter ride before and had a 180 degree opposite experience. There was no briefing provided on security measures. As soon as the aircraft landed, and without any notice or instructions, as the helicopter blades were running on full sound, the owner rushed to us and started to pull us down.”
A Bell 206 helicopter owned by New York Helicopter crashed into the Hudson River in June 2013.
The helicopter lost power, and the pilot made an emergency landing. No injuries were reported, and the NTSB found that a maintenance flub and an engine lubrication anomaly led to the power cutoff.
Thursday’s crash was the first for a helicopter in the city since one hit the roof of a skyscraper in 2019, killing the pilot.
At least 38 people have died in helicopter accidents in New York City since 1977. A collision between a plane and a tourist helicopter over the Hudson in 2009 killed nine people, and five died in 2018 when a charter helicopter offering “open door” flights went down into the East River.
After Thursday’s crash, Fulop called for an end of sightseeing helicopter tours over the Hudson River.
“This has been an issue we have pushed at the federal level for a decade with no response,” he wrote on X. “This is not the first crash that has happened and the reality is that the airspace here is too crowded above a densely populated area to allow this.
“These tourist helicopters should not be allowed and hopefully this terrible tragedy brings some change so that it will never happen again to any other family,” he wrote.
On Friday Mayor Adams disagreed with Fulop’s assessment, saying on 1010 WINS that the sightseeing tours are part of the “attractiveness” of the city.
On NY1, Adams did leave the door open for tighter restrictions on non-emergency helicopter traffic.
“I remember in 1977 when the helicopter crashed into the PanAm building, we made adjustments and modifications, you can always adjust and modify based on these circumstances,” he said. “There were 17 crashes over the approximately 40 years. Those are numbers that you have to look at when you make these adjustments.”
With Rocco Parascandola, John Annese and News Wire Services
This is a continuing story. Check back for updates.

A preliminary cause in the horrifying Hudson River helicopter crash likely will take “quite some time” to determine, said a top federal safety official Friday — as she revealed the doomed craft’s rotors still remain missing.
A 17-person investigative team has started the laborious task of piecing together what led to the New York City sightseeing helicopter to break apart midair Thursday before crashing into the water, killing six, said National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.
Homendy said nothing is off the table as investigators will comb through the pilot’s experience, the company that runs the sightseeing tours and the still-incomplete wreckage.
3 National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy offers an update on the investigation into the deadly Hudson River helicopter crash. SARAH YENESEL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
“We do not have a preliminary cause, that takes time,” she said.
“We will not speculate on cause – ever – but will not be determining any sort of preliminary or probable cause at the scene of an accident.”
The Bell 206L4 helicopter itself has been pulled from the Hudson River, but NYPD divers are still combing the depths for several missing pieces from the craft, Homendy said.
“We are looking for the main rotor and the tail rotor right now,” she said, noting the main transmission has also not been recovered.
The New York Helicopter sightseeing craft took off from Manhattan’s Downtown Skyport at roughly 1:50 p.m., with Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, and their three young children — Augustin, 10, Mercedes, 8, and Victor, 4 — in tow, officials said.
The family, who hailed from Barcelona, Spain, were flown by Sean Johnson, 36, a Navy SEAL veteran who recently moved to the Big Apple for his still-young aviation career.
Johnson had obtained his commercial pilot certificate to fly helicopters in August 2023, Federal Aviation Administration records show.
He appeared to have 788 hours of total flight experience as of March 29, Homendy said.
3 The crash killed the Escobar family and the copter pilot. New York Helicopter Tours LLC
“We still need to calculate flight time on that Bell helicopter – and I’ll have more information on that hopefully tomorrow – because he was previously flying a Robinson (R44),” she said.
The helicopter crashed about 25 minutes into its air tour, Homendy said.
Harrowing video shows the helicopter drop like a stone into the river, with at least one rotor still spinning in the air.
Stay up to date on the Hudson River helicopter crash:
Homendy said the videos circulating on social media are helpful for investigators, but noted they were taken from a very far distance.
She implored potential witnesses with additional photos and videos to contact the NTSB.
“We’re hoping to get some additional videos that provide us information,” she said. “We don’t know what people have recorded or taken pictures of that could be helpful in an investigation.”
The NTSB has raised concerns over sightseeing helicopters, including in New York City, in the past, Homendy noted.
3 Video captured the moment the doomed copter spiraled to the ground. Bruce Wall
A recent NTSB study found that many flight operators had exploited regulatory loopholes to avoid oversight, such as the company involved in the 2018 East River helicopter crash that killed five tourists.
Homendy noted, however, it’s too early to say what recommendations could arise from the crash investigation.
“We did issue a set of recommendations to improve safety,” Homendy said, but emphasized, “Those are recommendations, not regulations.”

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Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs. If there is one certainty in this uncertain moment, it’s this: U.S. tariff policy is likely to change again. As of Friday morning, there is a 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs placed on most countries. However, 10% base tariffs remain and President Trump has ratcheted up tariffs against China to about 145%.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives slashed his price targets for Apple and Tesla because tariffs threaten to disrupt both businesses.
However, they’re hardly the only U.S. companies expected to feel the pain — and then decide whether to pass that along to customers. The pause on higher tariffs placed on goods imported from Mexico and Canada provides relief to the transportation sector. However, the sector, particularly any EV companies using LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries, are highly exposed thanks to the outsized tariffs placed on China imports.
We’ll be following the tariffs issue closely, the effects of which won’t bear out for months.
A little bird
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
Nearly a year ago, a little bird gave us a tip that sparked a months-long hunt for more information about a secretive EV startup called Slate Auto. And boy, did we discover a lot. Senior reporter Sean O’Kane has all of the details in this story, including that Jeff Bezos is backing the company, along with other high-profile backers like Mark Walter, the controlling owner of the LA Dodgers and CEO of Guggenheim Partners, and Thomas Tull, who is a lead investor of Re:Build Manufacturing.
But there is so much more, including Slate’s origin story and its business model, as well as a second story that confirms a recent spy shot of its first product, an EV pickup truck.
Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.
Deals!
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
Welp, I have to admit I did not see this deal coming. I’m talking about Lucid Motors buying up some of Nikola’s assets out of bankruptcy.
Yes, Nikola founder and former CEO Trevor Milton, who was convicted of securities fraud and recently pardoned by President Trump, wanted those assets. Milton was met with a frosty reception. But Lucid was the winner, after committing around $30 million in cash and non-cash considerations in exchange for the factory, Nikola’s lease on its Phoenix headquarters, and “certain machinery, equipment and inventory,” according to a filing.
Other deals that got my attention …
Ayan Capital, which provides halal vehicle financing serving private hire and business drivers seeking halal alternatives to purchasing low-carbon emission cars, raised £25 million ($32.6 million) in Sharia-compliant financing from institutional debt provider Partners for Growth.
Nowos, a European lithium-ion battery repair and maintenance startup, raised €6 million in a round led by impact venture fund Shift4Good, with participation from Dutch investors Fair Capital Impact Fund and Goeie Grutten Impact Fund. An additional €3 million in debt financing is currently being raised.
Nuro, the California-based autonomous vehicle startup, secured $106 million in a Series E round. The raise, which was a down round, brings Nuro’s total funding raised to $2.2 billion and its valuation to $6 billion. That’s a drop from the $8.6 billion post-money valuation Nuro secured after its $600 million Series D in 2021. Backers in this round are mostly existing institutional investors, including T. Rowe Price Associates, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Tiger Global Management, Greylock Partners, and XN LP — as well as strategic partners.
Parallel Systems, which is developing autonomous, electric freight technology, raised a $38 million Series B round led by Anthos Capital with participation from Collaborative Fund, Congruent Ventures, and Riot Ventures, among others.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
ADAS
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has made cuts at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that “disproportionately affected” employees working on vehicle automation safety.
Nissan plans to use automated driving software developed by Wayve to beef up its advanced driver-assistance system starting in 2027.
Autonomous vehicles
Waymo is preparing to use data from its robotaxis, including video from interior cameras tied to rider identities, to train generative AI models, according to an unreleased version of its privacy policy found by researcher Jane Manchun Wong.
Meanwhile, a Waymo robotaxi in Santa Monica caused a traffic jam at a Chick-fil-A after getting stuck at the entrance of the drive-through.
Zoox is deploying a small fleet of retrofitted test vehicles on the streets of Los Angeles.
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries
Canoo CEO Anthony Aquila can buy the bankrupt EV startup’s assets, a judge ruled this week.
Elon Musk’s political activities, which have fueled global Tesla Takedown protests, are affecting the company’s sales. Used Tesla listings have skyrocketed. And other brands, which still lag far behind Tesla in total sales, are seeing an uptick. For instance, Polestar sales jumped in Q1 on discounts like its “Tesla conquest” bonus.

Recovery crews were searching on Friday for the scattered wreckage of a sightseeing helicopter that appeared to break apart over the Hudson River the previous day before slamming into the water, killing all six people on board.
Among the pieces that had not been found by Friday afternoon was the main rotor, according to Jennifer Homendy, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board. Videos filmed by witnesses showed the part flying off the helicopter as it plunged into the river.
As she cautioned that the investigation was just beginning, Ms. Homendy would not speculate on what had caused the crash. A typical investigation can take a year or two to complete, according to the agency.
“Everything is on the table — we don’t rule anything out,” she said at a news conference with officials from Jersey City, near the site of the crash, on Friday afternoon. She did not offer a timetable for the investigation.

A private plane that crashed in upstate New York on Saturday was carrying a close-knit family of physicians and distinguished student athletes, bound for a trip to the Catskills to mark a 25th birthday and the Passover holiday.
The twin-engine aircraft, a Mitsubishi MU-2B, went down shortly after noon Saturday in a muddy field in Copake, New York, near the Massachusetts line, killing all six people aboard, according to authorities and a family member who spoke to The Associated Press.
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The victims included Karenna Groff, a former MIT soccer player recently named the NCAA Woman of the Year; her father, a neuroscientist, Dr. Michael Groff; her mother, Dr. Joy Saini, a urogynecologist and Karenna Groff’s boyfriend, James Santoro, another recent MIT graduate, according to James’ father, John Santoro. Karenna Groff’s brother and his girlfriend were also believed to be aboard, Santoro said.
“They were a wonderful family,” Santoro told The Associated Press. “The world lost a lot of very good people who were going to do a lot of good for the world if they had the opportunity. We’re all personally devastated.”
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Santoro said his son first met Groff as a freshman studying at MIT. Groff, who grew up in Weston, Massachusetts, was an All-American soccer player studying biomedical engineering. Santoro, a math major from New Jersey, played lacrosse for the school.
AP AP
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Groff co-founded openPPE, helping to create a new design of masks for essential workers. In 2023, she received the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award for her on- and off-field accomplishments.
“Really, this recognition is a testament to my MIT women’s soccer family and all of the guidance, support, and friendship they have provided for me over the years,” she said in an interview at the time.
After graduating, Santoro and Groff moved to Manhattan, where Groff enrolled in medical school at New York University and Santoro worked as an investment associate for Silver Point, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, Connecticut.
On Saturday morning, they traveled to an airport in White Plains, a suburb of New York City, where they boarded Michael Groff’s private plane, according to John Santoro.
They were set to land at the Columbia County Airport, but crashed roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) to the south.
“It’s in the middle of a field and it’s pretty muddy, so accessibility is difficult,

The doomed helicopter that plunged into the Hudson River last Thursday, killing its pilot and five passengers, had no equipped flight recorders, federal officials said.
The Bell 206 helicopter, operated by New York Helicopter in Manhattan, was on its eighth flight of the day when it dropped from the sky during a sightseeing tour Thursday afternoon, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Investigators have recovered the helicopter’s main fuselage, including its cockpit and cabin, the forward portion of its tail boom, its horizontal stabilizer finlets and its vertical fin, the safety board announced Saturday night.
Some of those parts will be sent to the safety board’s laboratories in Washington, officials said.
NYPD divers are still looking for the chopper’s main rotor, main gearbox, tail rotor and a large portion of its tail boom.
NTSB investigator documenting the wreckage recovered from the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into Hudson River on April 10 near Jersey City, New Jersey , photographed on April 11, 2025. (National Transportation Safety Board)
NTSB investigator documenting the wreckage recovered from the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into Hudson River on April 10 near Jersey City, New Jersey , photographed on April 11, 2025. (National Transportation Safety Board)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (L) listens as Joan Camprubi, brother of mom killed on the crash, speaks during a press conference following a helicopter crash in the Hudson River at Pier 40, in New York City, on April 12, 2025. The Spanish family killed when a New York sightseeing helicopter plunged into the Hudson River, leaving no survivors, were celebrating a birthday, a local official said on April 11, 2025, as divers scoured for wreckage. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
Agustin Escobar, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, with two of their three children are pictured in an undated photo. The family was killed in a helicopter crash on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Facebook)
Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News The mangled wreckage of a helicopter is lifted from the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News)
A helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront Thursday, April, 10, 2025, killing six people on board. (Bruce Wall via AP)
A helicopter is seen submerged in the Hudson River in Jersey City, New Jersey after it crashed on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News)
Debris floats in the water at the scene where a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Show Caption 1 of 8 NTSB investigator documenting the wreckage recovered from the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter that crashed into Hudson River on April 10 near Jersey City, New Jersey , photographed on April 11, 2025. (National Transportation Safety Board) Expand
So far, investigators have found no onboard cameras or video recorders, and the helicopter’s avionics didn’t record any useful information, safety board officials said. The helicopter’s last inspection was on March 1.
Spanish tourists Agustin Escobar, the CEO for rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility; his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three young children all died in the crash, as did pilot Seankese “Sean” Johnson, after pieces of the helicopter, including the rotor, appeared to break off in midair.
The helicopter overturned and fell from the sky, hitting the river upside down.
At least 38 people have died in helicopter accidents in New York City since 1977, including on a 2018 crash where a FlyNYON doors-off helicopter plunged into the East River. Five passengers were strapped in with restraints that could not be removed midflight, causing them to sink to their deaths while the pilot swam away safely.
“We know there is one thing for sure about New York City’s helicopter tour companies: they have a deadly track record,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said at a Sunday news conference at the Wall St. heliport. “It is usually the companies, not the pilots, that are openly manipulating FAA rules, cutting corners and could well be putting profits over people.”
Schumer is calling for the Federal Aviation Administration to ground New York Helicopter flights.
“I am urging the FAA to pull their operating certificate immediately and cease flights until their full investigation is concluded, at the very least,” he said. “Pull the license of this company.”
Schumer also wants to see an increase in “ramp inspections” of other helicopter tour companies.
Schumer criticized FlyNYON for offering “today only” 70% discounts on its flights, calling the practice “galling,” though an archive.org search shows the company was offering those discounts for weeks before the fatal crash as well.
Long a critic of city helicopter tour companies, Schumer said New York Helicopters was operating under a “Part 91” certification, which isn’t as stringent as other types of FAA certification.
“It does not require the entire team of people who oversee or fly the helicopter to have the level of training and experience that commercial and passenger helicopter companies have,” he said.

Google is hosting dozens of extensions in its Chrome Web Store that perform suspicious actions on the more than 4 million devices that have installed them and that their developers have taken pains to carefully conceal.
The extensions, which so far number at least 35, use the same code patterns, connect to some of the same servers, and require the same list of sensitive systems permissions, including the ability to interact with web traffic on all URLs visited, access cookies, manage browser tabs, and execute scripts. In more detail, the permissions are:
Tabs: manage and interact with browser windows
Cookies: set and access stored browser cookies based on cookie or domain names (ex.,

(she/her) is a commerce writer, and she has been writing about gaming and tech since 2005. Prior to Polygon, she worked at publications such as The Verge.
If you’ve ever considered jumping into the BattleTech tabletop game, right now, Humble is offering an $18 bundle that includes all of the rulebooks you need to start playing, in addition to several sourcebooks, campaigns, and technical manuals to supplement your experience. While you technically don’t need fancy miniatures to play BattleTech, picking up an inexpensive introductory set like the Battletech Beginner Box is a great way to start building out your mini-Lance.
The most important parts of this bundle are the Battlemech Manual, Alpha Strike: Commander’s Edition, and BattleTech: Total Warfare, which will get you up to speed on everything you need to play or run your own campaign. However, this bundle also features technical readouts for classic and modern ‘Mechs, in addition to BattleTech: A Time of War, which folds in rules for a more personal TTRPG experience on top of ‘Mech combat.
BattleTech is a massive tabletop franchise that spans roughly a millennium of human history and has even recently announced a new, Warhammer-inspired, set titled BattleTech: Gothic. This bundle, however, sticks to the classic franchise and includes everything you need to set up campaigns, from the Succession Wars stretching all the way into the Ilkhan era.

At a time when Palestinian existence and resilience are under a microscope, the Chicago Palestine Film Festival is spotlighting all aspects of Palestinian culture and tradition with the 24th annual event, which began Saturday.
Much of the film festival, which runs through April 26, takes place at the Gene Siskel Film Center and includes many screenings as well as panel discussions and social gatherings.
Nina Shoman-Dajani, executive director of Chicago Palestine Film Festival, said the event is known for showcasing work from “Palestinian filmmakers who focus on Palestine, the history and the lived experiences of the Palestinian people living under military occupation.”
The festival is also an opportunity to promote the “Palestinian experience in the diaspora around the world, the everyday experiences of Palestinians just living their lives from Chicago to Gaza,” Shoman-Dajani said.
“Not all films that we screen focus on the occupation or what’s happening in Gaza,” Shoman-Dajani said at a time when Israel has resumed bombing and ground operations in Gaza after a two-month cease-fire.
“We also feature films that celebrate the Palestinian joy and culture and traditions and music and art,” she said, “and uplifting the Palestinian lived experience is a critical part in the work that we do.”
Films submitted to the festival for consideration vary from pieces by local filmmakers to internationally-acclaimed projects, Shoman-Dajani said. About 40 films will be screened this year, ranging from shorts to narrative features, documentaries and animated works.
Some of the screenings are already sold out, and a few of the films will have encore screenings later in April and May.
As a first-generation Palestinian American, Shoman-Dajani said she feels a responsibility to her people to keep their stories alive.
“I love the opportunity to share the stories of my ancestors and my community with the world and honor them through the work that I do with the film festival,” she said. “It’s more critical now than ever that we uplift the lived experiences of the Palestinian people, especially during this time when there seems to be a focus on the erasure of Palestinian stories and narratives.”
Jameeleh Shelo, a Chicago native, is a film producer and former executive director of the Chicago Palestine Film Festival. She co-executive produced “Khsara” with fellow Chicagoan Dean Bushala, a film and TV director who has worked all over the world with organizations such as National Geographic, Discovery Channel and Disney.
The Emmy-nominated documentary short follows three doctors who were given compact cameras to film their experiences as they traveled to war-torn Gaza a little over a year ago to assist with humanitarian aid and relief efforts.
Bushala said the film shows how the rules of war have changed. “What we’re seeing now is violence toward medical aid, hospitals, those areas that were considered safe, but that’s not the case anymore,” he said.
The film was meant to “touch people’s hearts and minds,” Bushala said, and the festival is an opportunity to do just that while also being a place where “filmmakers live and breathe.”
Shelo said she submitted the short film to the festival “quietly,” not wanting any special treatment for having been a part of the organization previously. She added that she wasn’t sure the film would be selected because “so many amazing films” were submitted.
“The festival has grown so much,” Shelo said. “It’s incredible to see and be a part of, even now from this side as a filmmaker and supporter.”
Shelo said the festival is also a “powerful” expression and a chance to move away from any “victim narrative” associated with Palestinian people.
Palestinian resistance takes many forms, she said, and “one of the more impactful ways is film,” despite the likelihood of backlash, she said, referring to an attack on Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the film “No Other Land,” which he made in collaboration with an Israeli filmmaker. Ballal was beaten by Israeli settlers and detained by the Israeli military a few weeks after his film won an Oscar for best documentary feature.
“I think Palestinians understand the risk that we take when we tell our stories because our truth is actively being suppressed,” she said. “We recognize that if someone who is at the top of their field, an Oscar winner, can have this happen to them, then we need to be stronger and we need to keep pushing back so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
Naif Salem, who was born and raised in Chicagoland, said being Palestinian is his “entire personality.”
His animated short film, “The Olive Tree Said To Me,” is based on his children’s book of the same name that features a young girl learning about the olive harvest in Palestine. He said he chose to write children’s books about Palestinians after seeing the lack of such books in the market. His fourth book is expected to come out later this year.
“Making sure our stories are out there is huge to me, and I want to continue sharing these stories and elevating the voices of our community,” Salem said. “We just have to keep telling the stories because if we don’t, no one else will.”
He said seeing that several of the festival’s screenings are already sold out energizes and excites him and he hopes the festival can “continue to grow and become something even bigger and better in a beautiful way.”
Bayan Jarad, a Palestinian Chicagoan and a graduate of Columbia College, has a film being screened. In “Memoirs of a Mozlem,” which was Jarad’s capstone project for her animation degree, the main character is “an echo of myself,” she said, and the film draws on Jarad’s experiences with bigotry during her college days.
“The hate that she receives doesn’t make her hateful toward others,” Jarad said. “She doesn’t let it get her down and ends up having a positive experience that reassures her that there are people out there who are kind.”
She said she is proud that her animated short film will be screened among a pro-Palestinian audience and hopes the film can cast a wider net to garner even more support for Palestinians.
The theme for this year’s film festival is “rooted in the Palestinian harvest,” Shoman-Dajani said, paying homage to the land and all that is harvested from it.
Besides the annual film festival, the organization puts on events throughout the year at campuses and community centers and in collaboration with other groups to promote conversation through the arts.
Shoman-Dajani said people “don’t need any prior knowledge to come and check out one of our films” at the festival, with its welcoming environment and diverse, multigenerational audience.
“The best way to understand what we do is to come and see a film and experience it,” she said.
Most people don’t just watch a film and leave, Shoman-Dajani said.
“It’s an opportunity to engage with the community, to network, to come together with like-minded individuals who believe in sharing the Palestinian narrative,” she said. “It’s also a chance to educate the public about what’s happening in Palestine, but also to share the everyday stories of the Palestinian people.”

This article contains spoilers for

At last Ned LeDoux is on a song with his late father, Chris LeDoux.
It’s been 20 years since the rodeo star and country singer passed away. Now, the younger LeDoux is combining his voice with his father’s on a new song called

EV startup Lucid Motors has emerged as a surprise winner in the bankruptcy auction for electric trucking company Nikola’s Arizona factory and other assets, according to a late Thursday night court filing.
Lucid committed around $30 million in cash and non-cash considerations in exchange for the factory, Nikola’s lease on its Phoenix headquarters, and “certain machinery, equipment and inventory,” according to the filing.
As part of the deal, Lucid is planning to make offers to around 300 former Nikola employees, the company told TechCrunch. Those offers will go to both salaried and hourly employees across manufacturing, engineering, software, assembly, vehicle testing, and warehouse support, Lucid said in a press release.
“As we continue our production ramp of Lucid Gravity and prepare for our upcoming midsize platform vehicles, acquiring these assets is an opportunity to strategically expand our manufacturing, warehousing, testing, and development facilities while supporting our local Arizona community,” Marc Winterhoff, Lucid’s interim CEO, said in a statement.
Lucid will not acquire any of Nikola’s hydrogen trucking assets or its customers, according to the release. Lucid beat out three other unnamed bidders in an auction that started on April 7 and went multiple rounds, according to a court filing.
The sudden appearance of Lucid in the Nikola bankruptcy proceedings is a shock for multiple reasons.
Nikola had been trying to sell its whole business since it filed for bankruptcy protection in February. Lucid is focused on making passenger EVs and has never dealt with hydrogen-powered electric vehicles, which is a big piece of Nikola’s nascent business.
More recently, Nikola’s founder Trevor Milton — who was convicted of fraud in 2022 but was pardoned by President Trump in March — was evaluating a bid of his own on the startup’s assets. Nikola convinced the court to block Milton from inspecting its factory and other assets in person ahead of the auction, which was held April 7.
Lucid has its own factory in nearby Casa Grande, Arizona, and so it sees value in acquiring more warehousing space, testing equipment, and employees, according to the company.
While Lucid was the top bidder for these assets at the auction, the bankruptcy judge is allowing objections to the sale to be filed until 12:00 p.m. ET on Friday, April 11. A hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET.
This story has been updated with information from Lucid Motors’ press release and additional court filings about the auction.

Interstate 495 southbound was closed during the Friday afternoon commute due to a crash, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said.
MassDOT announced just before 5 p.m. that the highway was closed at Exit 70 to Route 117.
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Authorities did not give any details about the crash or say whether anyone was injured.
Aerial footage showed a truck that appeared to have crashed off the road being pulled up onto the shoulder shortly before 5:30 p.m.
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As of around 5:45 p.m., MassDOT said all lanes had reopened. Earlier, the backup appeared to be miles long.

Traffic & Transit Roundabout For U.S. 52, County Line Road Is ‘Underway,’ IDOT Claims There has been lots of talk and little action by the Illinois Department of Transportation regarding plans for a roundabout near Shorewood.
In October 2019, Patch reported that Troy Township firefighter paramedics responded to 18 crashes in 2018 at County Line Road and Route 52 and 11 in 2017. (File image John Ferak/Joliet Patch )
SHOREWOOD — Isn’t there supposed to be a new roundabout going in at Route 52 and County Line Road? That’s a question people ask repeatedly. Last Sunday, there was another major crash at the dangerous curve at the county lines for Will and Kendall Counties. Now, on Friday, the Illinois Department of Transportation issued a social media announcement labeling it

Zach Wilson’s tenure as a New York Jet wasn’t all that memorable, not even for Jets owner Woody Johnson. While recently discussing the 2021 quarterback class, Johnson forgot all about Wilson, who the team took at No. 2 overall.
This offseason, the Jets signed free agent quarterback Justin Fields, who was part of that 2021 draft class and went No. 11 overall to the Chicago Bears. While speaking with ESPN’s Rich Cimini, Johnson said he felt Fields and No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence were the top two quarterbacks in that class.
2025 NFL mock draft: Predicting the first three rounds with selections for all 32 teams Ryan Wilson

The first major championship of the season is upon us, and the opening round of the 2025 Masters features groupings worthy to receive every ounce of your attention. A field of 95 players at the onset of the week still technically have a chance to don a green jacket come Sunday, but a fast start will be required or else hopes will be quickly dashed.
Two-time Masters champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler starts the festivities off in the morning hours as he seeks to become just the second player to win three Masters in a four-year stretch. Scheffler joins Justin Thomas and U.S. Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester in a 10:15 a.m. ET tee time.
This trio is sandwiched by a couple of star-studded groupings, including Collin Morikawa, Joaquín Niemann and Min Woo Lee, who look to excite the Augusta National patrons at 9:47 a.m. The afternoon wave features a tremendous grouping of Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Åberg and Akshay Bhatia with three fan favorites teeing off at 1:12 p.m.
Take a look at the full featured groups schedule for Thursday as well as the complete set of streaming options for Round 1 below. Check out the list of 2025 Masters tee times for Round 1 as you prepare for 72 holes of tremendous golf at the nation’s most pristine course.
All times Eastern
Round 1 — Thursday, April 10
Round 1 start time: 8:30 a.m.
Masters Live stream
Desktop and mobile: Free on CBSSports.com, CBS Sports app
Connected devices*: Available on Paramount+
*Paramount+ login required
TV coverage: 3-7:30 p.m. on ESPN
TV simulcast live stream: 3-7:30 p.m. on Masters.com
Post-round highlights: 11:35-11:50 p.m. on CBS, Paramount+

The National Parks Service has restored the original Harriet Tubman material featured on a webpage about the Underground Railroad after garnering outrage over its removal.
In February, a photo and a quote from of the abolitionist leader was removed from the top of a page titled “What Is the Underground Railroad?”
The content was replaced with a collage of Underground Railroad stamps from the U.S. Postal Service that highlight “Black/White Cooperation” in transporting escaped slaves to freedom in the north.
The site also removed references to the Fugitive Slave Act and a mural of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first Black regiments to serve in the Civil War.
“Changes to the Underground Railroad page on the National Park Service’s website were made without approval from NPS leadership nor department leadership,” a spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.
The department did not say who ordered the changes, but President Trump has made several executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across government agencies.
The changes to the Underground Railroad page were originally detailed in a Washington Post expose on Sunday and immediately drew widespread criticism.
Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., called the removal “an attack on truth, an attempt to erase history that would help us improve society today, a refusal to be uncomfortable and engaged in changing harmful policies and practices.”
Last month, the Department of Defense was similarly criticized after removing content about Jackie Robinson and other Black service members’ time in the Army, as well as information about the Navajo Code Talkers’ contributions in World War II. That material was also restored after pushback.
With News Wire Services

The second week of the regular season featured close wins between ranked opponents, and a couple of decisive victories from teams who move up considerably in the Globe’s Top 20 boys’ lacrosse poll.
Reading is the biggest riser after allowing just eight goals through three dominant wins over great opponents. Walpole is also rising on the strength of a prolific offense. Hingham swaps places with Needham after holding off the Rockets for a narrow 7-6 win Thursday. Duxbury took down rival Marshfield last Wednesday, and fell in a close, 6-4, battle at Longmeadow on Saturday.

Tee times for the 2025 Masters are out, and the Thursday pairings at Augusta National — from morning until the afternoon — are jam-packed. Once the Honorary Starters — Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson begin the tournament with their ceremonial tee shots at 7:25 a.m. ET — there is no slowing down the tremendous groupings who will be taking the course.
Two-time Masters winner and reigning champion Scottie Scheffler tees off at 10:15 a.m. Included in his group are Justin Thomas and Jose Luis Ballester. Scheffler, who has won two of the last three Masters, enters as the favorite again in 2025 with Rory McIlroy just behind him. McIlroy, with two wins before April for the first time in his career, will be featured in the afternoon at 1:12 p.m. alongside two popular up-and-comers in Ludvig Aberg and Akshay Bhatia
Spain’s Jon Rahm headlines one of the final groups to start on Augusta National; he will begin play alongside Wyndham Clark and Tommy Fleetwood at 1:34 p.m. Rahm has 11 PGA Tour wins, including a green jacket victory in 2023 when he beat Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson by four strokes.
While Tiger Woods will not play after tearing his Achilles in the warm up for the Masters, Mickelson steps onto the course at 9:58 a.m. with Jason Day and Keegan Bradley. Lefty is gunning for his fourth green jacket after topping the leaderboard in 2004, 2006 and 2010.
You will not want to miss a single moment of the action, so be sure to check out the 2025 Masters TV schedule and coverage guide so you know exactly how to watch every shot of the tournament. Plus, the full slate of 2025 Masters odds have been released as the first major of the young season approaches.
Watch all four rounds of the 2025 Masters with expanded coverage from CBS Sports. It starts Thursday with Masters Live as we follow the best in the world across Featured Groups, Amen Corner and holes 15 & 16. Watch those streams live across Paramount+, CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App with extended broadcast coverage Saturday and Sunday from 12-2 p.m. on Paramount+ and 2-7 p.m. on CBS.
All times Eastern
2025 Masters tee times, Thursday pairings
7:40 a.m. — Davis Riley, Patton Kizzire
7:51 a.m. — Kevin Yu, Jhonattan Vegas, Nicolai Hojgaard
8:02 a.m. — Mike Weir, Michael Kim, Cameron Young
8:13 a.m. — Zach Johnson, Joe Highsmith, Chris Kirk
8:24 a.m. — Danny Willett, Nicolas Echavarria, Davis Thompson
8:35 a.m. — Bernhard Langer, Will Zalatoris, Noah Kent
8:52 a.m. — Cameron Smith, J.T. Poston, Aaron Rai
9:03 a.m. — Fred Couples, Harris English, Taylor Pendrith
9:14 a.m. — Corey Conners, Brian Harman, Stephan Jaeger
9:25 a.m. — Patrick Reed, Max Greyserman, Byeong Hun An
9:36 a.m. — Robert MacIntyre, Billy Horschel, Nick Dunlap
9:47 a.m. — Collin Morikawa, Joaquin Niemann, Min Woo Lee
9:58 a.m. — Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley
10:15 a.m. — Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jose Luis Ballester
10:26 a.m. — Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, Tyrrell Hatton
10:37 a.m. — Tony Finau, Maverick McNealy, Thomas Detry
10:48 a.m. — Cameron Davis, Rafael Campos, Austin Eckroat
10:59 a.m. — Angel Cabrera, Laurie Canter, Adam Schenk
11:10 a.m. — José María Olazábal, Thriston Lawrence, Brian Campbell
11:21 a.m. — Bubba Watson, Matthieu Pavon, Evan Beck
11:38 a.m. — Tom Hoge, Matt McCarty, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
11:49 a.m. — Charl Schwartzel, Denny McCarthy, Hiroshi Tai
12:00 p.m. — Max Homa, Justin Rose, J.J. Spaun
12:11 p.m. — Dustin Johnson, Nick Taylor, Justin Hastings
12:22 p.m. — Sergio Garcia, Lucas Glover, Daniel Berger
12:33 p.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Rasmus Højgaard, Matt Fitzpatrick

Days Gone Remastered has received a new trailer for the Horde Assault mode ahead of the game’s launch set for April 25. Kevin McAllister, Creative & Product Lead at developer Bend Studio, also shared new information on Horde Assault in a dedicated PlayStation Blog post.
The ‘survival arcade’ mode was designed to challenge the players’ skills as they attempt to beat their high score while surviving as long as possible against increasing horde sizes and various enemies such as Breakers, Reachers, and Raging Bears. In Horde Assault, players start with only a sidearm and must fight their way through the initial Freaker onslaught to reach Deacon St. John’s Drifter Bike, an invaluable tool for traversing the open region.
Raiding the supply crates scattered across the map is crucial to increasing your chances of survival. There are more than 20 weapons available, including a new flamethrower not available in Story mode. The weapons that drop from each crate are random and reset each time you start a new game.
You may also replenish your supplies and earn extra XP by completing side quests. Also, if you manage to survive 30 minutes on any map, you will be treated to the Ultimate Horde, a never-ending horde battle that will relentlessly hunt you down.
As players level up Deacon St. John, they can earn in-mode rewards with never-before-playable characters, new patch cosmetics, and unique Injectors. Speaking of those, Days Gone players will already be familiar with the benefits of Injectors from the main story. This idea carries over to Horde Assault, but now with a big boost to drastically change gameplay in the form of modifiers. Throughout your journey to Legendary Survivor, you can earn a total of 24 unique Injectors – 12 positive and 12 negative. Positive Injectors provide a positive boost to your score but increase the challenge. Negative Injectors will penalize your score but increase your chance of survival with gameplay benefits.
Here are a couple of examples:
Exploding Freakers – Upon death, Freakers will explode. You need any advantage you can get when facing increased horde sizes, and this Injector is a unique way to trim its numbers.
Wanted – Start at maximum heat level. In Horde Assault, the longer you survive, the more difficult your chances of survival become. With this Injector, that escalation difficulty system begins immediately, proving to be a real challenge that only the strongest will survive.
In Days Gone Remastered, as players go through Horde Assault mode, they’ll progress through a Reward path of 35 levels. Each level earns them a reward, such as Injectors, character skins, and patch cosmetics, and six never-before-playable additional characters from Days Gone: O’Brian, Lisa, fan-favorite Skizzo, and more.
On PlayStation 5, this new edition of the game also comes with graphical enhancements, full DualSense support, new accessibility features and enhanced Photo Mode. PlayStation 4 and PC owners of the base game can purchase the Broken Road DLC for $10, accessing Horde Assault as well as Permadeath mode and Speedrun mode.
I loved Days Gone at launch. Unfortunately, a pitch for a sequel was rejected. In theory, a movie should be in production, although there haven’t been any official updates on that front since August 2022. Meanwhile, Bend Studio had its next project, an open world multiplayer game, canceled a couple of months ago.

DENVER — The chairman of the Surface Transportation Board says he is transforming the regulatory agency into a more efficient body that will help support competition and growth for railroads.
“We want to break down barriers to growth, encourage competition and elevate the role of markets instead of government,” STB Chairman Patrick Fuchs told a rail industry conference Tuesday. “More broadly, I want the board to be more efficient and effective, to deliver for business, and the country.”
The No. 1 priority is to increase the accountability of the board, which he pointed out issues about 400 decisions per year.
“The board has been too slow and too inaccessible,” said Fuchs, who was first appointed to the board by Trump in 2019 and was his choice to lead the body in January. “A tank car case, for example, took 10 years to complete. We should complete statutorily required work in a timely manner. So far, we have increased decision-making in cases 28% this year since last year.”
Fuchs (pronounced like “books”) was the keynote speaker at the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association conference here.
The transformation of the STB comes amid sweeping restructuring of the federal government by the Trump administration, mostly by executive order. However, that massive change has been less noticeable across transportation in comparison to the slash-and-burn tactics rending other agencies.
In a separate interview, Fuchs told FreightWaves that the White House is preparing a document regarding executive control and organization for all federal agencies that he expects to be issued in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the STB has reduced full-time staff, mostly through voluntary separations, though he could not say how many.
Fuchs in his speech said he is imposing more deadlines and expects the board to enforce them. He also directed 95% of the board staff to return to the office full-time – a statement that drew applause.
Fuchs claimed that an intensive review and rationalization of the board’s mission-critical functions has so far resulted in operational cost savings of about 6%. He has initiated a comprehensive reorganization, to make it flatter and faster. For example, legal staffs have been combined, he said, empowering them to move and make decisions quickly.
“We’re closely examining personnel based on statutory requirements and caseload,” he said. “We have terminated seven contracts that weren’t directly beneficial to mission criticality.”
Fuchs expects the coming months to be the beginning of transformational change, but not simply for change’s sake. “Judge me by the results,” he said. “Hold me accountable.”
Fuchs wants his agency to focus on streamlined processes that get adjudicatory processes on track rather than issuing new regulations.
The chairman is also prioritizing transparency to help establish timing estimates for board decisions. “I want to push out to the public when you will receive their next regulatory actions, and make that the norm for all docket cases.”
That transparency will extend to data, an initiative that has already been launched.
“We don’t want to collect data we are not using,” Fuchs said. “If we collect it, we must have a use case for it. We also want to make it easier to submit data; we have reduced data fields by the hundreds. We also want to make it easier for the public to see that data.”
More broadly, Fuchs thinks transparency has the potential to be similarly transformational, particularly when paired with emerging artificial intelligence. He said private industry can accelerate this change.
Collaboration is another tenet of Fuchs’ vision for the STB.
“The board has a role in growth, and we see our role in helping railroads compete, for instance, where there is competition from trucks. There are ways to break down barriers – for instance, in preemption [where federal decision-making is superior to local or state authority]. Some decisions by state and local governments are actually an impediment to competition, and that one local body does not have authority to regulate national markets. We are dealing with provincial interests.”
In related processes, Fuchs wants the board to play a leading role in permitting, and in an expedited manner. He pointed to the Uinta Basin Railway case where proposed plans to transport Utah crude oil to refineries on the Gulf Coast are being contested by environmental groups and Colorado’s Eagle County at the U.S. Supreme Court. The STB was a participant in a 3,000-page environmental review in the case, which was heard in December, and Fuchs expects a decision by summer.
Collaboration, he said, is also of primary importance, and the STB can play a bigger role in bringing people together.
“Collaboration means that disputes are almost always best worked out by the parties closest to a given situation,” said Fuchs. “That means shippers and railroads coming together to arrive at the best solutions.”
Subscribe to FreightWaves’ Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your inbox.
This article was update April 9 to correct Patrick Fuchs’ title, and to correct and clarify information on the Uinta Basin Railway case.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
Related coverage:
Union Pacific Railroad CEO ‘very comfortable’ working through tariffs
BNSF’s trade-related intermodal projects move ahead despite tariffs
BNSF, NS, Northwestern ports trim 3 days from intermodal speed service to Chicago
US weekly rail traffic shows strong gains

Are you a millennial parent who has made cycling your entire personality but have found it socially unacceptable to abandon your family for six hours on a Saturday? Or are you a bike-curious urban dweller who hasn’t owned a bicycle since middle school? Do you stare at the gridlock on your commute, longing for a bike-based alternative, but curse the errands you need to run on the way home?
I have a solution for you: invest in a cargo bike.
Cargo bikes aren’t for everyone, but they’re great if you enjoy biking and occasionally need to haul more than a bag or basket can carry (including kids and pets). In this guide, we’ll give you some parameters for your search—and provide some good talking points to get a spouse on board.
Bakfiets to the future
As the name suggests, a cargo bike, also known by the Dutch bakfiet, is a bicycle or tricycle designed to haul both people and things. And that loose definition is driving a post-pandemic innovation boom in this curious corner of the cycling world.
My colleagues at Ars have been testing electric cargo bikes for the past few years, and their experiences reflect the state of the market: It’s pretty uneven. There are great, user-centric products being manufactured by brands you may have heard of—and then there are products made as cheaply as possible, using bottom-of-the-barrel parts, to capture customers who are hesitant to drop a car-sized payment on a bike… even if they already own an $8,000 carbon race rocket.
The price range is wide. You can get an acoustic cargo bike for about $2,000, and you start seeing e-bikes at around $2,000 as well, with top-of-the-line bikes going for up to $12,000.
But don’t think of cargo bikes as leisure items. Instead, they can be a legitimate form of transportation that, with the right gear—and an electric drivetrain—can fully integrate into your life. Replacing 80 percent of my in-town car trips with a cargo bike has allowed me to squeeze in a workout while I bring my kid to school and then run errands without worrying about traffic or parking. It means my wife can take our infant daughter somewhere in the car while I take the bigger kid to a park across town.

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A heavily-used form of seasonal transportation has returned to Rochester.
A news release issued by the City of Rochester on Tuesday says Lime Scooters and Electronic Bikes are available for rental as of Wednesday.
Along with announcing the return of the rentals, city officials also pointed out changes riders will experience this year.
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How Many People Use Lime Scooters and Bikes in Rochester, MN?
City officials say users took 133,455 trips on the bikes and scooters last year, a 24% increase compared to 2023. 122,308 of the rides were on scooters while 11,147 people took rides on E-bikes.
65% of riders last year were Rochester residents and visitors/tourists accounted for the remaining 35% of rides, city officials say. The rides replaced an estimated 72,000 car trips last year, the news release says.
By the end of the month, there will be parking corrals stationed throughout downtown Rochester to help users better park the scooters and bikes. Officials plan to add more corals throughout the Spring.
What Are the Rules for E-Bikes and Lime Scooters in Rochester, MN?
E-Scooter riders are prohibited from using sidewalks and the city’s skyway system. The scooters are only permitted on streets, bike lanes and multi-use trails.
Riders are asked to leave the scooters and bikes upright with the kickstand out upon completion of their ride.
The bikes and scooters must be left in the new parking corrals or on the boulevard between the sidewalk and street if the parking corral is not available, the news release says.
The City will also have its progressive discipline policy in place for users who violate the rules.
Violators will be warned for first and second violations. A fine will kick in on the third violation and five violations will result in a ban on Lime use for the rest of the season.
Last year, 6,166 warnings and 97 fines were issued to violators, city officials say.
Anyone who encounters an abandoned scooter or bike can report it by scanning the QR code on the device with their smartphone.

Attorneys for the federal government said in court Wednesday that Trump Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is “still evaluating his options” for what comes next if the MTA doesn’t shut down congestion pricing by his Easter Sunday deadline.
“The Department of Transportation maintains the position that New York City should stop charging tolls by April 20,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominika Tarczynska said during a pretrial conference in Manhattan Federal Court — incorrectly identifying the city and not the state as the entity in charge of New York’s congestion toll.
“The secretary, however, is still evaluating what DOT’s options are if New York City does not comply,” she continued. “There has been no final decision as to what, if anything, will occur on April 20.”
The hearing was the latest in the MTA’s suit alleging that Duffy’s February order that New York State end it’s $9 congestion toll is unconstitutional.
Tarczynska’s update came days after court filings indicated the Department of Transportation’s attorneys had told their MTA counterparts that they did not plan on requesting an emergency pause to the program should the transit agency ignore the arbitrary April 20 deadline to turn off the tolling announced by Duffy on social media last month.
MTA officials and Gov. Hochul have repeatedly said the toll — which is required by state law — will remain in place barring a court order to the contrary.
“We have no further updates beyond what is in [the filing],” Tarczynska said Wednesday.
But while Duffy’s attorney said in federal court that he was still evaluating his options, the Department of Transportation’s press staff took a different tack in the court of public opinion.
“Make no mistake,” Department of Transportation flacks wrote in an angry tweet Tuesday, “the Trump Administration and [DOT] will not hesitate to use every tool at our disposal in response to noncompliance later this month,” insisting that, “simple agreements on judicial timelines have no bearing on the underlying merits of our case or our position.”
The tweet called press reports that the feds had reached an “agreement” with the MTA “a complete lie by the elitist New York liberal media.” The DOT publicists went on to accuse the MTA itself of “spin,” claiming the agency is “desperate to manufacture fake news to distract from the fact that their riders are getting assaulted regularly.”
But the feds’ crime claims — which Duffy has repeatedly used to threaten the $2 billion a year the MTA gets from the federal government — are false.
As previously reported by The News, NYPD data show major crimes in 2024 were at their lowest level on the subway in 15 years, excepting the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, when the system was partially shut down and ridership had cratered.
In a filing ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, MTA attorney Roberta Kaplan said the DOT’s tweet “appears to disregard the whole point of asking the parties to agree on a comprehensive schedule,” a common pretrial practice.
“The MTA plaintiffs have been clear from the beginning that they will ‘continue to operate the program as required by New York law until and unless [the MTA is] directed to stop by a court order,’ ” Kaplan continued.
“If the federal defendants plan to take unilateral action to alter the status quo, then they should be required to let us know what they intend to do and when they intend to do it so that the parties and the court can set an appropriate briefing schedule,” she wrote.
Manhattan Federal Judge Lewis Liman asked Tarczynska on Wednesday if he was correct in understanding that “there’s no action that is imminent” from the DOT.
“No final decision has been made,” Tarczynska said.
At the end of the brief hearing Wednesday, Liman appeared to remind the parties to be on their best behavior.
“You’re all professionals,” the judge said. “I look forward to a professional experience throughout this.”

SAN JOSE – The Highway 101 off-ramps at Story Road in San Jose will be closed most of Sunday for Viva CalleSJ, according to the California Department of Transportation.
The shutdown will begin at 7 a.m. and end at 5 p.m., the agency said in a news release.
According to Caltrans, the closure is needed to ensure the safety of Viva CalleSJ attendees and the traveling public.
The event, now in its 10th year, will turn several city streets into car-free zones for community activities. It will take place along Story Road and First/Market Streets.
More information about the event is available at www.vivacallesj.org.

On April 1, Fujifilm announced changes to its film product pricing in Japan, plus new branding for its disposable film camera. Unfortunately, the news was not an April Fool’s prank, and Japanese analog photographers are already paying higher prices.
As reported by DPReview, Fujifilm’s Japanese press release earlier this week outlines the latest analog Fujifilm news.
The disposable Fujifilm camera is changing from bag-type packaging to a paper box type. It is also getting a new name, going from “Simple Ace, 27 Shots” to “FujiColor, 27 Shots.” The new name and packaging will be rolled out to Japanese stores this month. It will also arrive with more than a new name and box: a higher price. Fujifilm will increase the price of its disposable film camera by about 44%.
There is no word of any corresponding change to the Fujifilm QuickSnap Flash 400 disposable camera in the United States.
Fujifilm will also increase the price of its color negative film and reversal film products in Japan. Color negative film will increase by 21 or 22%, depending on the specific product. Meanwhile, reversal film is hit by an even larger price increase of 31 to 52%.
Taking a quick peek at one Japanese retailer, Fujiya Camera, the situation for analog photographers in Japan is quite challenging. A 36-shot roll of Fujifilm Provia 35mm film is ¥4,680, which is equivalent to just over $32. A 36-shot roll of 35mm Fujifilm Velvia 50 is even pricier, setting photographers back a whopping ¥5,180, or $35.59. Five packs of 120-format Velvia 100 is ￥18,980, or just over $137.
PetaPixel‘s editor-in-chief Jaron Schneider was recently in Japan for the Sigma BF launch event and the CP+ imaging show, and he returned to the United States with an impressive bundle of Fujifilm film, including Provia 100, Velvia 50, and Velvia 100, alongside some Rollei and Oriental Seagull. The bundle cost about $311 and would cost significantly more today than in February.
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This same allotment of Fujifilm products, five rolls of Provia 100, three rolls of Velvia 100, and two rolls of Velvia 50, cost $328 today in Japan, more than what Schneider paid for all of the Fujifilm products plus other rolls of film.
Fujifilm says it needs to increase the cost of its film products in Japan to account for higher materials and transportation costs.
“In addition, as the prices of materials and raw materials and transportation costs for photographic films are soaring, we have been striving to absorb costs by improving production efficiency and reducing costs, etc., but since it is difficult to absorb only by corporate efforts, we will revise the prices for some products of photographic films, including [our disposable film camera]. Thank you for your understanding of the situation,” Fujifilm says in a machine-translated statement.
Image credits: Fujifilm. Featured image created using an asset licensed via Depositphotos.

Which in-line skates are best?
In-line skates aren’t just for the roller rink. They’re popularly used in skate parks and frequently used as a method of quick transportation. You’ll need to buy the right kind of in-line skates for each of these locations and uses, or you could needlessly struggle.
The best in-line skates are the Rollerblade Zetrablade Men’s Adult Fitness In-line Skate. This model comes from one of the oldest brands in roller skating and has multiple features that make it the perfect choice for a beginner.
What to know before you buy in-line skates
Hard vs. soft boot
Each boot type has its own pros and cons.
Hard boots are more durable and respond better to small movements. Their higher weights provide a stabilizing effect. They’re perfect for beginners.
boots are more durable and respond better to small movements. Their higher weights provide a stabilizing effect. They’re perfect for beginners. Soft boots are more comfortable, thanks to increased flexibility and ventilation. Their lower weights let them reach higher speeds for long-distance travel. More skill is required to control them, however, making them best suited to experienced skaters.
Wheels
There are multiple aspects to consider regarding an in-line skate’s wheels.
Size: The size of your wheels affects how your skate handles, with larger wheels having faster top speeds and smaller wheels having sharper control. Beginners should pick wheels between 70 and 90 millimeters, as they exist comfortably in the middle. Advanced skaters can use sizes of 55-60 mm at the skate park or 110 to 130 for transportation.
The size of your wheels affects how your skate handles, with larger wheels having faster top speeds and smaller wheels having sharper control. Beginners should pick wheels between 70 and 90 millimeters, as they exist comfortably in the middle. Advanced skaters can use sizes of 55-60 mm at the skate park or 110 to 130 for transportation. Number: In-line skates use three, four or five wheels. The more wheels you have, the more stable you’ll be.
In-line skates use three, four or five wheels. The more wheels you have, the more stable you’ll be. Hardness: A wheel’s hardness relates to what kind of surface it’s meant to glide over. Harder wheels are more durable but have less grip and impact absorption. Indoor skates usually use hard wheels while outdoor skates use soft wheels.
A wheel’s hardness relates to what kind of surface it’s meant to glide over. Harder wheels are more durable but have less grip and impact absorption. Indoor skates usually use hard wheels while outdoor skates use soft wheels. Shape: Wheels come in three shapes: flat, moderate and round. Some organizations call them flat, round and bullet instead, respectively, so use caution when shopping. Flat wheels have a wide surface, while round wheels have a narrow surface. The more surface area connecting with the ground, the more stable you’ll be, but the slower you’ll be able to go.
What to look for in quality in-line skates
Frame
The frame is what holds the wheels. It’s made from one of three materials: carbon, aluminum and plastic.
Carbon is the lightest and most durable option. It can cost hundreds of dollars, marking it as professional-grade only.
is the lightest and most durable option. It can cost hundreds of dollars, marking it as professional-grade only. Aluminum is far more affordable when you want a high degree of lightness and durability. It’s still an investment, as most cost around $100, give or take $25.
is far more affordable when you want a high degree of lightness and durability. It’s still an investment, as most cost around $100, give or take $25. Plastic frames don’t cost much, a boon when you consider their low durability. Their high weight and flexibility also hold them back.
Closure
In-line skates are secured to your foot using one method or a combination of them. Laces are the most common, thanks to their low cost and ease of adjustment. Buckles and Velcro are also popular and can provide a tighter fit. Dial-and-loop closures, found only in top-dollar skates, are quick to secure and the tightest.
How much you can expect to spend on in-line skates
Beginner to intermediate skates usually run $50-$250, with advanced skates costing as much as $500.
In-line skates FAQ
What’s the difference between men’s and women’s in-line skates?
A. Very little. Most in-line skates are unisex, but a few offer differences between the sexes. For example, men’s skates tend to have wider boots, while women’s may stay lower on the ankle. They may still fit the opposite sex, you’ll just need to use a shoe-size conversion chart to find the right size.
Why are in-line skates considered easier to learn on?
A. It’s because of their longer surfaces, which makes them more stable than quad skates. However, some prefer the wider surface of quad skates despite the lower average stability. If you aren’t sure which you’ll prefer, try both styles out at your local roller rink before making a purchase.
What are the best in-line skates to buy?
Top in-line skates
Rollerblade Zetrablade Men’s Adult Fitness In-line Skate
What you need to know: These come from the brand that’s synonymous with roller skating.
What you’ll love: They’ve been manufactured for beginning roller skaters, carefully balanced and with high ankle support. The inner sections of the boots are padded. A low center of gravity translates to a more stable skate. It has 80-millimeter wheels.
What you should consider: The wheels aren’t well designed for use on sidewalks. Advanced skaters will be held back by the skates’ design.
Top in-line skates for the money
Bladerunner Advantage Pro XT Men’s In-line Skate
What you need to know: This lower-cost option is made with novices in mind.
What you’ll love: These skates are available in men’s sizes 7 to 13. The boot’s interior is padded for comfort. The boot is tightly secured using a tight series of buckles, laces and straps. It includes 80-millimeter wheels and the whole skate weighs only 6.8 pounds.
What you should consider: The rear brake is difficult to remove from the skate. The wheels aren’t meant for use on streets. The ankle can dig in.
Worth checking out
Liku Professional Unisex In-line Skates
What you need to know: These are a good option for skaters looking to improve.
What you’ll love: These skates are available in men’s sizes 6 to 10.5 and women’s sizes 7 to 11.5. The lining is padded for comfort but can be removed. Ventilation holes in the front and rear help prevent sweating. A buckle, strap and lace securing method keeps the boot tightly secured.
What you should consider: The shell of the boot’s durability is suspect. Some consumers reported issues with the brakes. The lining can detach without you meaning it to.
Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.
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House Democrats will seek a vote this week on a roughly $1.3 billion spending plan that would inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the MBTA as the agency wrestles with a major budget gap.
The House on Monday teed up its redraft (H 4005) of Gov. Maura Healey’s proposal to spend down about $1.3 billion in available surtax revenue, moving to clear that measure from the to-do pile in the week before House Democrats unveil their annual budget bill.
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Money from the voter-approved levy on wealthy households can only be used for education and transportation investments. The House bill, marked for a House vote Wednesday, calls for directing most of the available surtax pot — $828 million — toward the transportation sector and $353.5 million toward education.
House budget chief Aaron Michlewitz said his team and Healey

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ex Cassie Ventura is now set to testify during his sex trafficking trial in Manhattan next month.
Ventura, known as “Victim 1” in a motion filed on Friday, is “prepared to testify under her own name” during the high-profile trial where Combs will defend himself against charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Three other victims, who have requested to keep their identities anonymous during the trial, are also preparing to testify. “Victim 2, Victim 3, and Victim 4 have asked that their identities not be revealed to the press or the public,” the filing states.
“This case has already received an exceptional amount of media coverage, which will presumably only increase as trial proceeds,” prosecutors said. “Permitting these measures will prevent unnecessary public disclosure of the victims’ identities, and the harassment from the media and others, undue embarrassment, and other adverse consequences that would almost certainly follow if these women were forced to reveal their true names publicly at trial.”
However, prosecutors handed over the names of all three women to Combs’ legal team, so the Bad Boy musician is aware of who is bringing the claims against him.
Ventura first made headlines in May of 2024 when CNN released a video that allegedly showed Combs grabbing, kicking and beating Ventura at the InterContinental Hotel in March 2016.
A 2016 surveillance video obtained by CNN shows Sean

Congestion pricing will likely remain in the heart of Manhattan until the fall under an agreement struck between the Trump administration and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority — before a federal judge then ultimately decides the controversial toll’s fate, according to court documents.
The revelation came Monday after the deal was conveyed to Judge Lewis Liman Friday — the same day US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rode the beleaguered city subway system with Mayor Eric Adams and ripped the MTA for its high spending.
3 Congestion pricing will remain in the heart of Manhattan until at least the fall, according to court documents. AP
The schedule laid out in a letter by the MTA to the judge would prevent a decision on the case until at least the middle of summer, but would give way for both sides to submit further motions that would likely drag the legal battle into October, the docs shows.
The Department of Transportation also told the MTA it did not plan on seeking an injunction that would stop the program – at least temporarily – before the judge makes a ruling, the legal papers said.
The tolling program began in early January, but now hangs in the balance after President Trump said he wanted to yank federal approval in February, setting up a court fight between the transit authority and federal government.
3 The revelation comes after US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rode the beleaguered city subway system with Mayor Eric Adams last week and ripped the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for its high spending. Paul Martinka
Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she intends to keep the program active as the court fight plays out.
Federal officials have called on New York state to kill congestion pricing, though last month Duffy extended a deadline for the program to stop by April 20.
The transportation chief hasn’t been shy about blasting the state and MTA over the last few months.
3 The proposed timeline agreed to by the feds and the MTA would keep the camera lights on until at least October, according to a letter sent to the judge presiding over the case. Robert Miller
When Duffy visited the Big Apple last week, he slammed the MTA for wasteful spending and took a shot at the $9 tolls for drivers that enter below 60th Street.
Emails to the governor’s office and MTA were not immediately returned Monday night.
The DOT didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
While the proposed timeline in the legal case allows New York to keep charging drivers, the Trump administration could pressure the state to scrap the program by withholding federal funds.

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While celebrating the launch of her As Ever brand on Wednesday, Meghan Markle slipped on Brochu Walker’s Joseph Top to whip up dessert for a New York Times cooking video.
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It appears there’s a new love in Gracie Hunt’s life.
Over the weekend, the daughter of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt seemingly teased a budding romance in an Instagram Story, which featured her embracing an unidentified suitor at the team’s home Arrowhead Stadium.
“After meeting 7.5 years ago in this place … all along there was some invisible string,” Hunt captioned the post and referenced the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s 2020 song, “Invisible String.”
6 Gracie Hunt during Super Bowl week in February 2025. Getty Images
6 Gracie Hunt shared a romance update in an Instagram Story from April 2025. Instagram/graciehunt
Hunt, formerly Miss Kansas USA, was most recently linked to Cody Keith, a real estate broker.
The ex-quarterback played at East Carolina University and attended NFL training camps. Keith also drew interest from the Canadian Football League, according to his bio at The Keith Corp.
Months after confirming the relationship in September 2024, Hunt and Keith found themselves at the center of breakup speculation earlier this year.
6 Gracie Hunt dated Cody Keith in 2024. Gracie Hunt/Instagram
6 She has supported her beloved Chiefs en route to Super Bowls. Gracie Hunt/Instagram
In a social media roundup Keith posted for the month of March, Hunt was curiously absent, Us Weekly reported.
Hunt is clearly looking ahead after this weekend’s reveal, which came roughly two months after her beloved Chiefs were toppled by the Eagles in Super Bowl 2025.
6 Gracie Hunt with her dad, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, in February 2025. Getty Images for Fanatics
6 She is a former Miss Kansas USA. Instagram / @graciehunt
In the wake of the lopsided 40-22 loss in New Orleans, Hunt reflected on the memorable ride in a heartfelt Instagram post.
“Praise Him when you win. Praise Him when you lose. 💔 It wasn’t the result we were hoping for, but so proud of this team’s heart and the incredible season we had,” Hunt wrote on Instagram Feb. 10.
“Thank you to our sweet friends and family who came to support this weekend and stayed through the post game reception. Thank you to every person in the Chiefs organization for going above and beyond in all you do—we love you like family. Thank you to the incredible fans who bleed red with us. You all are the heartbeat of Chiefs Kingdom and are truly the best fans in the NFL. We’ll be back Chiefs Kingdom.”
Hunt did not immediately return The Post’s request for comment.

There are tons of great new deals to be found today, including a top-rated TP-Link Deco WiFi 6 mesh system that’s on sale for $149.99. You can practically cover your whole neighborhood with blazing-fast WiFi. Plus, the TORRAS Ostand R Fitness is our favorite new iPhone case, and it has a special launch discount. You’ve never seen anything else like this awesome case!
Keep reading to check out all the top deals of the day on Monday, April 7.
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1 of 2 | Hit Show leads a massive 1-2 upset by American horses in Saturday’s $12 million Group 1 Dubai World Cup. Photo by Liesl King, courtesy of Dubai Racing Club
April 7 (UPI) — An old horse racing maxim has it,

ST. PAUL (WJON News) — The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety is issuing another round of grants to school districts and transportation companies for school bus stop arm cameras.
The OTS is handing out $1.3-million to outfit 465 buses in its final round of grants.
The cameras are going to 18 Minnesota school districts and bus companies, including 15 buses in the Foley Public School system that covers portions of Benton, Morrison, Mille Lacs, and Sherburne counties.
The OTS has now awarded more than $15-million in state-funded grants toward school bus stop arm cameras, outfitting 8,000 school buses.
Last year, the cameras helped catch 2,105 drivers who failed to stop when the stop arms were out.
Each citation carries a penalty of a $500 fine.
LOOK: 8 TV Shows You Totally Forgot Existed Think your memory’s playing tricks on you? Think again. These TV shows were 100% real. How many of them do you remember tuning into? Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
Glaring Continuity Errors From Popular TV Series Stacker scoured articles, interviews, TikToks, fan forums, and YouTube clips to compile 25 of the most glaring continuity mistakes from popular TV series. Gallery Credit: Stacker

Chart of the Week: Outbound Loaded Rail Container Volume, Outbound Tender Volume Index – USA SONAR: ORAILL.USA, OTVI.USA
Requests for truckload capacity (OTVI) have averaged nearly 9% lower year over year (y/y) since mid-February, while intermodal volumes (ORAILL) have remained relatively steady, growing at a 5% rate since the start of the year. This places total transportation demand in a state of decline, regardless of seasonal influences. Should this be considered a concerning signal from an economic perspective?
The short answer is yes, but it is not alarming. Headlines about tariffs and uncertainty surrounding trade policy have dominated business media since late February, prompting many executives and economists to consider the possibility of a recession.
Businesses need clarity on trade policy to make long-term decisions and investments. Uncertainty about the end goal of the tariff negotiation strategy makes it difficult for supply chain managers to determine what and where to source their raw materials and goods while keeping costs manageable.
This challenge is compounded as consumer confidence weakens due to concerns about inflation and a softening job market.
Businesses are caught in the middle, trying to manage upstream production and sourcing while predicting whether their customers will adjust their purchasing behavior in the coming year. The near-term result is stagnation.
Importers continue bringing goods into the U.S. to build inventories ahead of potential new tariffs. The Inbound Ocean TEUs Volume Index (IOTI), which measures container bookings based on departure dates from ports of lading worldwide, showed 2% annual growth as of Wednesday and has remained consistently higher than in 2024 throughout the past month.
Much of this freight is being pushed into increasingly crowded warehouses.
The Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) inventory level component indicated strong growth in February, coming in at 64.8 – only slightly higher than the previous year’s 63.8. However, inventory levels in preceding months were significantly stronger, suggesting shippers have been building stock for months rather than reacting to a single seasonal event.
While this could be a bullish sign for the economy’s future, it does not necessarily hold in an environment of uncertainty.
At the end of the pandemic era, surface transportation demand collapsed as consumption waned. Import demand followed months later, leading to an inventory glut and a prolonged effort by companies to clear out warehouses.
Although a similar scenario is not as imminent as it may appear – especially with intermodal’s market share gains not reflected in the chart – a comparable mechanism is at play.
At the end of January, container volumes were up 6%, while OTVI was down only 1% y/y. However, the sharp decline in truckload demand over the past month and a half has not been offset by intermodal, indicating that downstream consumption is not as strong as before.
While this does not indicate an immediate recession, sustaining inventory growth without an increase in consumption is not viable. The first quarter is traditionally a time for inventory replenishment and preparation for busier periods.
So far, tariff rhetoric has had a greater psychological impact on the economy than direct consequences, but downstream demand indicators like OTVI will be among the first places where the effects materialize.
About the Chart of the Week
The FreightWaves Chart of the Week is a chart selection from SONAR that provides an interesting data point to describe the state of the freight markets. A chart is chosen from thousands of potential charts on SONAR to help participants visualize the freight market in real time. Each week a Market Expert will post a chart, along with commentary, live on the front page. After that, the Chart of the Week will be archived on FreightWaves.com for future reference.
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Members of the Texas House Transportation Committee pushed for details about a long-discussed high-speed rail project linking Dallas to Houston, but the company behind the project had few answers to provide lawmakers.
Thursday’s hearing centered around House Bill 2003, which would compel entities behind high-speed rail projects included in the Texas Rail Plan to disclose information about funding methods and project costs, a project timeline and planned foreign investment.
“You guys are asking for a level of specificity that we don’t possess,” Texas Central representative Andy Gent said. “We have a general belief in the project, we have general underwriting of the project to date. We have general parameters of where we think it’s going to go, who’s going to be involved, what it’s going to cost, what the rough timeline is.
“We’re working on all that stuff.”
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The company announced plans more than a decade ago for a proposed train to shuttle passengers from Dallas to Houston in about 90 minutes compared to the three-and-a-half-hour car trip on Interstate 45. Texas Central planned to model the bullet train after partner Japan Central Railways’ Shinkansen system.
The project has faced many delays and leadership changes since, and uncertainty about the final costs and timeline remain, lawmakers pointed out Thursday.
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Amtrak announced in 2023 that it would partner with Texas Central to move the project forward, but Texas Central doubts the public rail provider will lead development of the high-speed rail line under the Trump administration, Gent said.
Texas Central confirmed during the hearing that the company bought out its top Japanese investor in the project in January and the rail line is now backed by Texas investor John Kleinheinz.
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Texas Central has acquired only about 25% of the land required for the rail line, which has yet to be fully funded, Gent said.
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North Texas transportation planners hope the Dallas-to-Houston line would connect to a separate Dallas-to-Fort Worth route, though that project has drawn pushback from Dallas City Council members and prominent Dallas developers.
The bill is one of several aimed at high-speed rail. House Bill 1402 would prevent state or local tax dollars from being used to alter roadways to make room for rail infrastructure, while House Bill 663 would restrict eminent domain powers for high-speed rail.
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House Bill 483 and companion Senate Bill 424 call for the Texas Department of Transportation to enter into a development agreement with a private entity to construct and operate high-speed rail along the Interstate 35 corridor connecting Dallas to Austin and San Antonio.
Gent said the information Texas Central is subject to change and, if released now, could be taken out of context and complicate investments. Lawmakers questioned the company’s intentions.
“What is it that you’re hiding?” committee member Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, asked. “Why do you not believe in transparency when we’re talking about taking people’s land, when we’re talking about using federal funds, when we’re talking about using taxpayer funds to talk to support a private project?”
Committee members voted unanimously to compel the company to provide the information directly to the committee via a subpoena.
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If passed, the bill will go into effect Sept. 1, 2025.

Truck transportation jobs in March rose the most in a month since the beginning of 2022.
The increase of 9,600 jobs that went along with a larger-than-normal increase in nonfarm payrolls for the country (up 228,000 jobs) was the largest since an increase of 10,400 jobs in January 2022. That month was nearing the end of what is generally considered the strongest freight market in recent history. This month’s increase came during a time when the most optimistic voices are hoping for an improvement by the end of the year.
The monthly numbers released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported a revision of January and February numbers that resulted in the February figure actually being down 2,800 jobs between January and February, larger than the original estimate.

Federal prosecutors in New York have added two charges of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution to their indictment against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The new charges are part of a superseding indictment, according to documents filed Thursday in federal court in Manhattan. This is the third time the indictment has been amended.
In September, Combs was accused in a three-count indictment of having used his sprawling business empire to abuse, threaten and traffic women in order to “fulfill his sexual desires” and protect his reputation. He was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Sign up for the “Diddy on Trial” newsletter for key developments and analysis
Last month, prosecutors accused Combs in an amended indictment of forcing employees to work long hours and threatening to punish those who did not assist in his two-decade sex trafficking scheme.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty and denied all the allegations. His trial starts next month.
The original indictment referred only to a Victim-1, whose accusations aligned closely with those of Combs’ former girlfriend Casandra Ventura. Her 2023 civil lawsuit, which she and Combs settled privately within a day without him admitting any wrongdoing, preceded the criminal inquiry. Ventura alleged in her lawsuit that Combs forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he watched, masturbated and recorded them.
The indictment was amended in January to include two additional females, Victim-2 and Victim-3, whose identities have not been made public. That indictment also included an allegation that Combs had dangled a person over an apartment balcony.
The latest indictment focuses on Victim-2 and alleges that from about 2021 to about 2024, Combs used force, fraud or coercion to recruit, entice, harbor, transport and maintain Victim-2 and willfully caused the woman to engage in commercial sex acts.
Combs is also accused in the indictment of transporting individuals across state lines with the intent to engage in prostitution, including Victim-2 and commercial sex workers on multiple occasions. The latest indictment increases the total number of charges Combs faces from three to five.
The indictment contains allegations that Combs orchestrated elaborate sex parties he called freak offs that included the distribution of drugs and involved male sex workers. Combs is accused of having “arranged, directed, masturbated during, and often electronically recorded” the freak offs, which the indictment alleges “occurred regularly, sometimes lasted multiple days, and often involved multiple commercial sex workers.”
Prosecutors on Friday filed a 24-page motion, parts of which were redacted, seeking to protect the identities of three of its four witnesses, identified as Victim-2, Victim-3 and Victim-4. Prosecutors asked that the three women be referred to by pseudonyms during the trial and that their names be withheld from the media and the public. The filing says Victim-1, who is widely believed to be Ventura, is prepared to testify under her own name.
“Permitting these measures will prevent unnecessary public disclosure of the victims’ identities, and the harassment from the media and others, undue embarrassment, and other adverse consequences, that would almost certainly follow if these women were forced to reveal their true names publicly at trial,” the filing states, adding that the women’s identities are already known to Combs and will be known to the jury.
It also explains why the women want to be anonymous, including to protect their and their families’ privacy, to minimize their humiliation “when testifying about such deeply personal topics” and to “prevent adverse impact” on their ability to earn an income.
In a statement released Friday in response to the new charges, Combs’ legal team said: “These are not new accusers, these are the same individuals, former long-term girlfriends, involved in consensual relationships. This was their private sex life.”

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!
Over the 13 years reporting on Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, I have watched the rise, fall, near misses, and rise again of the company and its billionaire leader. Musk, known for his willingness to take risks, has admitted how close the company came to filing for bankruptcy before turning it all around.
It was that “us versus them” storyline that helped turn Musk into a symbol of innovation.
His political alignment with President Trump, and more importantly, his activities as the unofficial leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, has changed public perception of Musk. But it’s Tesla that is taking the biggest hit, including a drop in Q1 sales, global Tesla Takedown protests, and a falling stock price. And automakers, which have long trailed Tesla in EV sales, are taking advantage of this opening by offering sweet trade-in deals and other incentives.
Senior reporter Rebecca Bellan has documented the moments over the past several months that have affected Tesla. Her article will be periodically updated, so be sure to check back.
Can Tesla rebound? The recent tariffs announced by Trump could help Tesla since its vehicles — and many of its components — are made here in the United States. It still might not be enough protection to stop the bleeding. And tariffs will likely hurt Tesla’s energy-storage business.
The chaos surrounding the tariffs implemented by Trump will linger. We’re just starting to see how automakers are reacting and adjusting. Some, like Ford, are trying to get ahead and provide discounts to boost sales in the short term. And Volkswagen has told dealerships it plans to add an import fee to the price of imported cars sold in the United States, per The New York Times.
A little bird
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
A little bird told us that while Tesla definitely appears poised to launch a robotaxi service in Austin this summer, the automaker’s outreach to the city has been slim. Others like Waymo and Cruise (back when Cruise was a thing) have tried to get off on the right foot by connecting with as many city stakeholders as possible before launching.
Some government officials also shared safety concerns around Tesla’s brand of autonomy. They worry Tesla’s cars might have a more limited awareness of surroundings since they only rely on cameras, rather than lidar and radar, for perception.
Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.
Deals!
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
All quiet on the deal front this week. Still, there were a few worth noting.
EVident Battery, a Massachusetts-based advanced battery inspection tech startup, raised $3.2 million in a seed funding round led by Ibex Investors. Nationwide Ventures, Automotive Ventures, and Avesta Fund also joined.
Fourier, the hydrogen startup, raised $18.5 million in a Series A round led by General Catalyst and Paramark Ventures. Other participating investors include Airbus Ventures, Borusan Ventures, GSBackers, MCJ Collective, and Positive Ventures.
Windrose Technology, an EV maker based in Belgium and with Chinese roots, plans to file for an IPO in the U.S. to $400 million, The New York Times reported.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
Autonomous vehicles
TechCrunch reporter Maxwell Zeff interviewed San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie, and autonomous vehicles do come up. Check out the video here.
Uber has partnered with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority in a deal that paves the way for the company to operate AVs in the United Arab Emirates city. Uber doesn’t have its own AVs, so it will rely on partnerships. Its first in Dubai will be with Chinese company WeRide.
Speaking of WeRide, the AV company has obtained a driverless public road testing and operating permit in France.
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries
Harbinger, a medium-duty EV manufacturer, officially started production and has manufactured its first 100 salable units, the company told TechCrunch. It’s a notable milestone for the California-based startup, which was founded in 2021. Those vehicles will be headed to several customers, including RV giant Thor Industries.
Meanwhile, Harbinger has also inserted itself into the bankruptcy proceedings of EV startup Canoo. Harbinger filed an objection to the sale of Canoo’s assets to its CEO, potentially throwing a wrench into the 2-month-old bankruptcy case.
Rivian delivered just 8,640 vehicles in the first three months of 2025, the company’s worst quarterly mark since the end of 2022. The company says it still expects to deliver between 46,000 and 51,000 EVs by the end of 2025.
Redwood Materials, the battery materials and recycling startup founded by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, opened a research and development center in San Francisco. The 15,000-square-foot facility located in the city’s Design District is equipped with lab space to support engineers who will eventually work on every point of the battery ecosystem, from chemical engineering and cathode science to software and electrical engineering.

For weeks, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has derided the New York City subway, repeatedly making fear-mongering assertions that the nation’s biggest transit system is unsafe.
He has characterized the subway as a hellscape, even though it is used by more than four million riders a day and underpins the financial and cultural capital of the United States. He has threatened to withhold federal funding for the trains unless crime rates decrease, even though crime rates are decreasing.
And on Friday, he and Eric Adams, the increasingly Trump-aligned mayor of New York City, rode the subway together, at Mr. Adams’s invitation. Where or when, exactly, was a bit of a mystery.
What ensued was a cat-and-mouse game involving Mr. Duffy; Mr. Adams; Janno Lieber, the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; and a cadre of angry train supporters seeking to confront Mr. Duffy on their home turf.

DOGE could be teaching the MTA new tricks.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy offered the notoriously spendthrift transit agency the help of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team after taking a two-stop subway ride with Mayor Eric Adams in New York City Friday.
Duffy ripped the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for greenlighting $250 million in contracts for consultants on the next Second Avenue subway extension — which already carries a whopping price tag of $7.7 billion — or $4.3 billion a mile.
“Someone’s getting rich,” he said.
4 US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy offered the MTA help from DOGE during a two-stop subway ride Friday. Paul Martinka
“I see how much MTA spends, right?” Duffy said. “I suspect there is waste… fraud, and so I’m going to make an offer at MTA.
“I know a few people in DC who are very successful at rooting out fraud, waste and abuse: DOGE,” he said, referring to the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency.
“So, I’m going to offer folks from DOGE to come down and take a look at what MTA is doing, how they’re spending their money, and can they be more efficient for the taxpayers in the state of New York?”
The transportation secretary’s visit and ride along with the increasingly MAGA-friendly Adams is his latest high-profile action targeting the MTA amid a spat with Gov. Kathy Hochul.
No one from the MTA was on the tour, an apparent snub that came after Duffy threatened to pull funding from the agency last month.
Adams also did not give Hochul a heads up about his meeting with Duffy, despite talking with her on the phone the previous night, a source familiar with the situation said.
Duffy first got the governor’s goat by announcing he’d pull federal approval for congestion pricing in Manhattan, prompting a lawsuit by Hochul and MTA to keep the first-in-the-nation tolling program alive.
He then demanded transit safety information from the MTA under threat of pulling federal funding — an ultimatum the former MTV “Real World” star repeated when he extended a deadline to end congestion pricing.
4 Mayor Eric Adams didn’t tell Gov. Kathy Hochul he would be meeting with Duffy, a source said. Paul Martinka
4 Hochul has been feuding with Duffy over congestion pricing and MTA funding. Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
Duffy — who was shown how to use a MetroCard by Adams for their short ride from the DeKalb Avenue to Broadway-Lafayette stations — said he wanted to make sure the subway system is “safe.”
His desire came a day after NYPD officials touted subway crime levels finally falling to pre-pandemic levels — including no murders so far this year — amid a surge of police orchestrated by the city and Hochul.
“Secretary Duffy has literally no idea what he’s talking about,” a Hochul spokesperson said.
“As Mayor Adams and most New Yorkers know, Governor Hochul stepped up to add NYPD officers and security resources on public transit. Now, subway crime has declined by double digits and ridership continues to grow.”
MTA representatives referred The Post’s questions to remark made by the agency’s Chair and CEO Janno Lieber at an unrelated news conference.
“Don’t let the moment pass to remind people crime is down 40% from where it was before COVID,” he said. “The March numbers confirm the trajectory. The NYPD and all of our partners in trying to create a safer New York and a safer subway system have done a hell of a job. Fare evasion is also down 30% from last summer.”
4 Duffy said he wanted to make sure the subway was “safe.” Paul Martinka
Duffy also continued to lambast the $9 congestion pricing tolls for drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street as creating a two-tier “class system” in which the wealthy drive on the streets while those who make less take the bus or subway.
He also spoke with Adams about the crumbling Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, which the mayor wants to rebuild.
“It took four years to build the Golden Gate Bridge, but we’re going to take probably eight years to repair the BQE,” Adams said. “And (Duffy) asked the question of, what is in the way? What can we do on the city level, on the federal level, to stop slowing down these important projects?
“And I’m excited about doing this, but also here in the subway system, the secretary has been clear over and over again that if the federal dollars that come into the city must have an excellent product, we must have a good product to make sure that passengers are moving safer, not only in the stats, but how they feel.”

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) recently finished a key phase of the ongoing overpass construction at the intersection of Powers Boulevard and Airport Road, and will start another phase as early as this weekend.
Last Sunday night, CDOT closed southbound Powers at Airport overnight to finish placing the last of six girders that form the base of the new Airport bridge above Powers; that work was delayed because of snow, cold temperatures, and strong winds.
The next step begins this weekend and continues through next week, with more nighttime closures on Powers so that crews can start working on the bridge deck.

A two-stop ride on the B train Friday wasn’t enough to change the mind of Sean Duffy, the head of President Trump’s Department of Transportation, about how dirty and dangerous he thinks the New York City subway system is.
“We’re not where this needs to be,” Duffy said of the subway’s cleanliness and safety after being brought on a brief tour of the system by Mayor Adams.
Duffy added that he had passed someone who appeared unwell during his subterranean journey, and called it “not humane” to have people with mental illness living on the subway. “I don’t know if he’s urinating himself or defecated,” Duffy remarked of the individual he encountered.
At a press gaggle following the subway ride, Duffy even said he might try to sic DOGE — Trump adviser Elon Musk’s para-governmental cost-cutting operation — on the MTA, without explaining how Musk’s minions would have any authority over a New York state agency.
“I’m going to offer folks from DOGE to come down and take a look at what MTA is doing, how they’re spending money, and can be more efficient with the taxpayers’ [money] in the state of New York,” Duffy said.
“Can I force MTA to change their ways? I can’t,” he said. “But again, this is a partnership. I’m here with the mayor because I do care about the city.”
Asked by the Daily News if he still considered the subway “a s–thole” — the description he gave it two weeks ago — the midwesterner was snide.
“Some would say,” he quipped.
Duffy first lobbed the jab at the transit system last month, claiming Gov. Hochul, who controls the MTA, has worked to “make it a s–thole.”
In a statement punching back at Duffy after his latest broadside, Avi Small, Hochul’s spokesman, said the secretary “has literally no idea what he’s talking about.”
“We hope the secretary enjoyed his field trip to Manhattan and we encourage him to come back soon and ride a train or bus — like 90% of commuters to the Central Business District do every single day,” Small said.
The secretary’s short subway stint was orchestrated by the mayor’s office. Adams, who is facing intense heat from fellow Democrats for cozying up to Trump and his allies amid his now-dismissed federal corruption indictment, first let it be known he would bring Duffy for a ride-along during a string of Friday morning TV appearances.
It comes as Duffy has threatened to defund the MTA over subway crime stats — which are at a decade low — and as the MTA and state government continue to ignore Duffy’s legally dubious order to end congestion pricing.
“I’m going to tell him we’re going to keep analyzing congestion pricing to make sure this is good for New Yorkers and what dollars we need,” the mayor said on NY1 before affirming he supports Gov. Hochul’s “initiative of implementing congestion pricing.”
At the gaggle later in the day, though, Duffy, standing alongside Adams, kept his anti-congestion drumbeat going, claiming it’s a “classist” system that makes driving a mode of transportation reserved for “elites.”
“If you’re middle income, lower income, you’re forced into the train,” said Duffy, whose effort to kill congestion pricing has been stalled as Hochul’s administration fights to protect it in court.
Adams also said he would bring Duffy to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and talk to him in general about New York City’s infrastructure needs.
“I want the secretary to see everything from our BQE, some of the crumbling infrastructure that we have, I’m going to talk about even federal dollars for our public safety initiative,” he said on PIX11.
“I want to meet with every secretary, I want them to see how this city is the economic engine of the country and we need federal support to continue.”
Duffy’s participation in the daily ritual of millions of New Yorkers comes amid his subway scare tactics, with the secretary threatening to withhold federal funding for the system over perceptions of crime — despite the NYPD declaring 2024 the safest year for straphangers in more than a decade.
As of Monday, crime on the subway is down 22% compared to last year, according to NYPD statistics. Adams has for weeks touted the drops in underground crime, but later in the day only chuckled when asked by a News reporter if he had managed to convince Duffy that the subways are safe.
In the midst of a back-and-forth regarding safety stats last week, MTA chairman Janno Lieber invited Duffy to ride the train with him and see the system for himself.
But multiple sources at the transit agency told The News Friday that Duffy’s visit had been set up without their participation or knowledge.
As Duffy descended on the city, Lieber found himself waiting on the subway platform at Borough Hall in Brooklyn — a station in the midst of a renovation where it was rumored the Transportation secretary would show up.
“We heard today that he might be coming here,” the transit boss told reporters.
Adams and his office would not tell reporters which station he would be taking the Wisconsinite to on Friday.
Nonetheless, The News caught Duffy exiting a motorcade and boarding a B train at the DeKalb Ave. station in Brooklyn. From there, he traveled just two stops, alighting at Broadway-Lafayette in SoHo.
Adams praised Duffy, saying he was grateful to him for coming to see the train system “on the ground.”
“Often bureaucrats try to come in and solve problems from their sterilized office,” the mayor said.
While the city — not the MTA — is responsible for paying the police who patrol the subway system, Duffy’s decision to meet with Adams and not transit bosses comes as the mayor is under increasing fire for his warming ties to the Trump regime amid its dismissal of his corruption indictment, which many say has left Adams beholden to the president.
But Adams defended his decision to meet with Duffy on Friday morning.
“I can’t communicate with him if I just ball up my fist and say, ‘I’m not going to speak with you because you’re a Republican,’” he said in one of his television appearances. “No, I’m going to open my hand, extend it and shake his hand and say, ‘I want to produce for the city that I love.’”

If you don’t think Apple’s Series 10 smartwatch redesign was a big deal, today is a REALLY good day to pick up a cheap Apple Watch Series 8 in Renewed Premium condition. You can also save a bunch on Bosch ICON windshield wiper blades so you can actually see as you drive around in April showers. Weber grills have deep discounts as well today, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
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With each “Mission: Impossible” movie, Tom Cruise keeps finding novel ways to almost die on screen.
As Ethan Hunt, he’s clung from trains, planes and the side of the Burj Khalifa, while engaging in one “can you top this” stunt after another. So it’s no surprise that “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” finds Cruise risking it all once again. This time he’s hanging on for dear life from the wing of a airborne biplane as it flies upside down in new footage that Paramount Pictures debuted at CinemaCon on Thursday.
And he’s convinced the U.S. navy to go the distance as he races to save the world. “You gave him an aircraft carrier?” one shadowy official asks in disbelief, at one point in the new trailer. Cruise is later seen vaulting from the ship’s deck into the ocean.
But this is what Hunt was born to do. Ving Rhames, playing computer hacker and Ethan’s BFF, Luther Stickell, puts it bluntly as the IMF agent suits up one last time: “Our lives are the sum of our choices. This is your calling. Your destiny.”
Popular on Variety
As its title suggests, “The Final Reckoning” is rumored to serve as the 62-year-old Cruise’s sendoff to the espionage series. It is a direct followup to 2023’s “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning,” which earned more than $570 million globally, but was a box office disappointment because costs ballooned to nearly $300 million due to COVID shutdowns and the expense of resuming shooting during the pandemic.
Before sharing the new footage, Cruise took the stage to honor his frequent collaborator Christopher McQuarrie as CinemaCon’s “Director of the Year.” He praised the director for his help on projects like “Top Gun: Maverick,” as well as his contributions to non-Cruise films such as “World War Z” with Brad Pitt. And he added that “Dead Reckoning,” which they made together, was a milestone for moviemakers, because it helped establish safety protocols that got the industry back to work during the pandemic.
“He didn’t do it for personal glory, but in recognition of the responsibility we had for others,” Cruise said. “We were able to keep people working safely throughout that time period.”
“The Final Reckoning” brings back franchise stalwarts like Simon Pegg, as well as Esai Morales, who served as the primary human antagonist in the previous film (the other big baddie was AI). The cast also includes Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, and Rolf Saxon, all of whom appeared in previous installments. Newcomers to the series include Janet McTeer, Hannah Waddingham, and Nick Offerman. McQuarrie, who has directed three previous “Mission: Impossible” movies, returns behind-the-camera. He wrote the script with Erik Jendresen.
Paramount will release “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” in theaters on May 23, 2025.
Oh and there’s one summer movie that Cruise is definitely excited to see in theaters. That would be “F1,” the Formula One drama starring Pitt that was directed by Joseph Kosinski, Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick” director.
“[Brad’s] a very good driver,” Cruise said. “I’ve raced against him…we’d literally finish [shooting ‘Interview with the Vampire’] and go race go-carts.”
That’s high praise from the star of “Days of Thunder.”

Spoiler alert! This story discusses the April 3 episode of Grey’s Anatomy, “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” which can be streamed with a Hulu subscription if you’re not caught up.
Tensions had been building for a while between Kim Raver’s Teddy and Sophia Bush’s Cass on Grey’s Anatomy, and on the latest episode to air on the 2025 TV schedule, their mutual attraction finally hit a breaking point. Teddy and Owen opened up their marriage, providing the perfect opportunity for something to finally happen, and Teddy’s out-of-town conference gave them the setting. Raver opened up about their characters’ hot hookup, including why it was important to her that they use an intimacy coordinator.
Fans have been excited to see Sophia Bush join Grey’s Anatomy’s 21st season as Cass Beckman — aka the latest target of Owen Hunt’s jealousy — and we finally got what we all came to see when she and Teddy Altman skipped out on the conference for a hot hotel room makeout sesh. Kim Raver pulled double duty as not only one of the stars of the steamy scene but as director of “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” and she told THR it was important to her that they use an intimacy coordinator. The Teddy actress said:
We had an intimacy coordinator. Everything was very much mapped out, there was consent. It was really important to me that we had an intimacy coordinator because I’m directing and in the scene, so I wanted Sophia to feel that all of her choices [were heard] and that we both felt completely comfortable.
It makes sense with Kim Raver directing that episode — her second time at the helm — that she wouldn’t want there to be a power imbalance between her and Sophia Bush. While Teddy may have ultimately decided she didn’t want to be with Cass, Raver couldn’t say enough great things about her scene partner, saying of Bush:
She is absolutely amazing to work with. I’ve had such an incredible time with her. She’s such a professional, funny and collaborative. It’s really that thing of women supporting women and in this business to have that, especially as a director, is so important. Everyone sets the tone. You raise up other people who are expanding creatively and expanding in the business.
Kim Raver said she took a note from Debbie Allen and choreographed Teddy and Cass’ hotel room tryst like a dance. Everything was blocked out in advance and walked through with the intimacy coordinator beforehand, and she talked out any changes that needed to be made in service of her character. Raver continued:
There’s a whole set of steps you go through before you’re even film it, and Sophia was completely [great]. I would be filming it and then I’d come up with a new intention for Teddy — and I say intention, because that’s really important. Everything was physically blocked out, but the intentions were about when Teddy turns from being in the moment to stopping it. It was a real pleasure to direct Sophia and myself throughout the whole episode.
Teddy may have decided open marriage wasn’t for her, but meanwhile, Owen (Kevin McKidd) was taking full advantage of the situation, as we saw him in bed with Nora (Floriana Lima), his sister’s childhood friend. It looks like the truth comes out, too, in next week’s episode. Check out the preview below:
Grey’s Anatomy 21×14 Promo

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Pressing regulatory concerns, including English proficiency requirements for drivers and the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs to asylum-seekers, took center stage Thursday during the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration leadership meeting at the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS).
Attendees voiced frustration over enforcement inconsistencies and the perceived lack of clear policy direction. Those issues, along with broader discussions on regulatory fairness, fraud prevention and technological advancements, underscored the trucking community’s demand for more definitive action from the agency.
The two panelists, FMCSA Chief Counsel Jesse Elison and Department of Transportation Director of Public Liaison Ben Siegrist, outlined FMCSA’s focus areas under the second Trump administration. Those include a renewed emphasis on enforcement fairness and due process, ensuring that inspections and investigations are evidence-based and consistent across jurisdictions. They also discussed a deregulatory approach aligned with the Trump administration’s policy of eliminating 10 regulations for every new one introduced.
Another key focus area was technological advancements, with FMCSA looking to leverage tools such as its upcoming Motus platform, a new ID verification system, to streamline compliance and prevent fraud. The system was announced at a closed breakfast meeting. The platform, developed in collaboration with tech provider Idemia, aims to modernize regulatory compliance by offering features seen in online banking applications.

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for 1923 season 2, episode 6.The penultimate episode of 1923 season 2 had a huge number of bombshell developments and incredibly important character deaths, and they’re definitely worth going into more detail. 1923 season 2, episode 6 rocked the entire cast of 1923, and it significantly thinned the number of characters to remember going into the season finale. Even before 1923’s war for the Yellowstone begins, several characters met their untimely demise, including one major member of the Dutton family tree. It was a whirlwind of death and violence, and the episode’s ending may need an explanation.
After putting off several different conflicts for the majority of the season, 1923 season 2, episode 6 finally saw some characters confront one another in spectacular (and bloody) fashion. Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché) and Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves) finally settled their score, for example, while Jack Dutton (Darren Mann) met his shocking end. The road to Montana also had yet another tragedy in store for Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer), and everyone is still anxiously awaiting Spencer’s (Brandon Sklenar) return. A lot happened in the buildup to 1923 season 2’s finale.
Marshal Kent Killed Pete Plenty Clouds & Father Renaud Killed Kent
Pete Died In The Shootout, But Renaud Killed Kent To Avoid

A Premier League and Champions League winner, Mohamed Salah has unquestionably played at the highest level of football in his career. The winger has been with Liverpool since 2017 and, since then, has established himself as one of the best wingers to ever play in the English top-flight.
Given Salah’s consistency and almost robotic way of playing football, it can be easy to forget how good he is because so rarely is he bad. The Egyptian has averaged staggering tallies during his seasons at Anfield, and, as a result of such form, many often overlook the winger in conversations about all-time Premier League greats.
Mohamed Salah’s Career Stats at Liverpool So Far Appearances 392 Goals 243 Assists 110 Honours Won 1x Champions League
1x Premier League
1x FA Cup
2x League Cup
Salah’s immediate future is still up in the air, with the Egyptian being one of three key Liverpool players, along with Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, to be on contracts set to expire in the summer of 2025. Salah is, along with Van Dijk, hoping to stay at Anfield, despite there seemingly being little progress in the way of an extension, while Alexander-Arnold is reportedly closing in on a move to Real Madrid.
Related Mohamed Salah Named His Favourite Liverpool Player of All Time Mohamed Salah is many younger generations’ favourite Liverpool player, but the Egyptian King himself revealed he had one growing up too.
Whether Salah stays or goes remains to be seen, though what can not be argued is the legacy that he has already made for himself on Merseyside. Back in 2022, when speaking to Sky Sports, Salah listed the four best goalkeepers that he has ever played against. Given Salah’s own calibre as an attacker, his opinions on such a matter are worth double.
Iker Casillas
Salah thinks the Spaniard had a special career
First on Salah’s, albeit unordered, list of shot-stoppers is Iker Casillas. While the keeper retired at Porto, it was during his 16-year stint at Real Madrid that he became known to the world, with Casillas routinely pulling out exceptional saves for Los Blancos, who he helped win numerous trophies during his time at the club. When asked what made Casillas so special, Salah replied:
“For the career he had. I played against him when he was at Porto, not Real Madrid. You see him talking at the back and to the players.”
The fact that Salah played against Casillas only when he was at Porto, yet the Spaniard still ranks among the best goalkeepers the winger ever faced, is only a testament to Casillas’ ability as a player. Casillas was in his mid-30s when he moved to Portugal, and, even then, was only forced to retire due to health issues in 2020.
Related 11 Greatest Goalkeepers in Champions League History Ranked Playing in the Champions League is only achieved by the best goalkeepers – but who are the top 11 shot stoppers in the competition’s history?
Gianluigi Buffon
‘He was unbelievable’
The next name given by Salah was a certain Gianluigi Buffon, one of the game’s greatest goalkeepers in history. The World Cup winner only retired in 2023 after two years with Parma, his boyhood club, having spent almost 30 years as a professional footballer, most famously with Juventus across two stints.
Salah, as a former Fiorentina player, faced off against Buffon more than just if Liverpool were ever drawn against Juventus or Paris Saint-Germain in European competitions. About the Italian icon, he said:
“When I played against Buffon in Italy, he was unbelievable. The feeling when you are up against him. It’s amazing. The career he had, winning everything in football, it’s unbelievable.”
A three-time runner-up in the Champions League, Buffon won 10 Serie A titles with Juventus, along with five Coppa Italia and six Supercoppa Italiana trophies. The Italian was well-known and feared by attackers for his lightning-fast movement as a goalkeeper, be it in his saves or for his brilliance in coming off his line.
Alisson
Salah has played with the Brazilian for years
Regarded as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation, it is hardly a surprise that Salah named Alisson as one of the greatest he has faced. Granted, the two have scarcely ever played against each other domestically. Salah played for Roma from 2015 to 2017, with Alisson joining the club in his second season in the capital.
One year after Salah departed for Anfield, Alisson followed suit. The Brazilian has played for Liverpool ever since and was a key cog in Jurgen Klopp’s side that returned the club to a position of competing for and winning major honours. The winner of the inaugural Yashin Trophy, Alisson, will surely go down as one of Liverpool’s best shot-stoppers.
Related 20 Highest-Paid Goalkeepers in Football (2025) Goalkeepers fulfil one of the most important roles on the pitch, but just how well paid are the best shot-stoppers in Europe?
Now 32 years old, Alisson feasibly has years at the top level yet, especially given that goalkeepers often retire at a later age. Salah will hope, then, that he does not end up facing off against his current teammate in the years to come, given how high a regard he holds Alisson.
Manuel Neuer
Last on Salah’s star-studded list was Manuel Neuer, a leading light in the sweeper-keeper philosophy who has long been known for his speed and effectiveness when rushing off his line. A World Cup winner with Germany, Neuer has played for Bayern Munich since 2011 and has won countless accolades with the Bavarian giants.
Salah has faced off against Neuer numerous times, be it during his time in Italy or England, in the Champions League. A fearsome goalscorer, few could instill such worry into a player like Salah, though Neuer is one of those few. The German has won 11 Bundesliga titles and two Champions Leagues across his exceptional career, which, despite his age, has shown no signs of slowing down.

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Creature from the Black Lagoon is one of the great movies in the Universal Monsters pantheon, introducing the human/amphibian missing link known as the Gill-Man into the pop culture zeitgeist for the next 70 years. Director Jack Arnold, perhaps the best sci-fi filmmaker of the 1950s, creates a palpable atmosphere of menace as his boatload of scientists venture down the forbidding length of the Amazon River, the monster — obsessed with a woman (Julie Adams) in the boat — stalking them even as they hunt for him.
On the other hand, the hurriedly produced 1955 sequel, Revenge of the Creature, is basically a knockoff of the original (with a different cast). And while the creature himself and the underwater photography are as compelling as before, there’s an air of

Traffic will be detoured while construction on Carolina Crossroads project continues overnight Wednesday, March 26
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) wants motorists to be aware the department will be temporarily closing a portion of I-20 at I-26, commonly known as Malfunction Junction, so that work on the Carolina Crossroads project can continue.
The I-20 Eastbound off-ramp to I-26 Eastbound will close at 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, and reopen at 5 a.m. on Thursday, March 27.
During this construction period, traffic will be detoured to the I-20 Eastbound to I-26 Westbound Ramp and then will continue to use the interchange exit ramps until reaching I-26 Eastbound.

SAN JOSE — A Santa Clara County judge ordered striking Valley Transportation Authority employees to return to work at a hearing Wednesday — bringing the strike to an end in its third week but leaving the issue of a new contract without an immediate resolution.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel T. Nishigaya ordered the striking union to return to work, issuing an injunction on the grounds that the VTA met its initial burden to show it had probable success in its arguments but did not rule on resolving the claims in the case.
“I know both sides have a strong desire to serve the public, and I thank both sides for that desire,” he said.
Bus service is slated to resume Friday and light rail service will follow after system inspections, the VTA said in a social media post late Wednesday.
“There are tens of thousands of people who have suffered because of this strike, and we are appreciative of this ruling so that our employees can get back to work,” VTA spokesperson Stacey Hendler Ross said.
Ross added that she hopes the union will return to the negotiation table to come to an agreement on a new contract.
Raj Singh, the president of the ATU, expressed disappointment in the ruling.
“We believe that the justice systems and the court has failed us,” Singh said. “At the end of the day, the workers lost today.”
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 workers walked off the job March 10 after negotiations with the VTA for a new contract fell apart over the inability of the two sides to compromise on arbitration language and the amount of a pay raise, leaving the riders who use the buses and trains each day without their normal transportation routes.
The VTA filed a lawsuit against the union on the first day of the strike, seeking an injunction to stop the strike on the grounds that the union violated a “no strike” clause in its contract. The union has maintained that the previous agreement expired and the clause no longer applies.
Nishigaya initially denied the VTA’s request for a temporary restraining order last week but granted its request for an order to show cause, summoning union representatives to appear in court to argue why the injunction should not be granted.
At the court hearing Wednesday, attorneys representing the union and transit agency sparred over whether the union breached the “no strike” clause in the contract, whether the court has jurisdiction over a transit labor dispute and whether the strike has caused irreparable harm.
Benjamin Lunch, an attorney for the union, argued that the contract had expired — which he said the VTA has acknowledged to both employees and the public — and that provisions such as the “no strike” clause do not roll over even though some provisions such as employee wages and working conditions do, based on precedents of labor law. He added that the contract’s extension into an extra year only applies if neither side wants to renegotiate the contract.
“Otherwise, this would create an indefinite contract,” he said, which would be terminable at will by either party.
Jenica Maldonado, an attorney for the VTA, maintained that the union would have had to issue written intent to terminate the contract in order for it to no longer apply.
She also said the union’s argument ignored that the VTA is suing for breach of contract and not a labor dispute, adding that the VTA believes that the court and the governor have concurrent jurisdiction over granting an injunction for a transit strike. She noted that the VTA already sought intervention from the governor and that waiting for him to intervene when he has already declined would give the VTA “no remedy.”
Lunch maintained that the court does not have jurisdiction to grant an injunction for a transit strike on the grounds that the governor has sole authority in the state to grant an injunction or cooling-off period. He also maintained that the strike has not caused irreparable harm, a characterization that Maldonado called “quite preposterous,” citing the negative effect the strike has had on riders left stranded.
The agency and union returned to mediation Tuesday, one day after the union overwhelmingly voted down a new proposal from the VTA that offered an 11% raise over three years, but removed the memorandum of understanding that guarantees workers who strike will not face retaliation and added revisions to the attendance and overtime policies.
Singh earlier this week attributed the contract’s failure to pass to the addition of these stipulations, which he said had been originally removed from conversations in January.
Staff writer Jason Green contributed to this report.

A transit advocacy group is pushing for more funding for the Detroit Department of Transportation.
“The mayor has proposed a substantial boost of $20 million. We are definitely supportive of that, but we believe we need more in order to achieve the level of service that the city deserves,” said Transportation Riders United Campaigns Manager Joel Batterman.
Mayor Mike Duggan touted investments in DDOT during his State of the City address.
“(We’re) adding 45 buses, hiring 63 new drivers, and bringing on 24 new mechanics, increasing the daily bus count from 178 to 220, the most in years,” Duggan said Tuesday (March 25) night.
Transportation Riders United is calling for an additional $16 million on top of the $20 million proposed by Duggan in his budget to improve service frequency and to add and remodel bus shelters.
“We have talked to many people over the years who have lost jobs due to inadequate transit service,” Batterman said.
DDOT Executive Director of Transit Robert Cramer stated that the mayor is proposing to improve the rider experience right on target.
“This proposed budget really gives us the opportunity to make incremental increases throughout the next fiscal year at a rate that we believe we can sustain while keeping the service safe and reliable,” Cramer said.
Will, a DDOT rider, mentioned that he has noticed improvements in DDOT service.
“In recent years, the bus service has improved significantly. I often use the bus when I’m in the downtown area,” Will said.
Transportation Riders United plans to hold a demonstration before the city council’s budget hearing on Monday, March 31. The city council is responsible for approving the budget.

The Star Wars: Skywalker Saga Limited Edition 4K Box Set is on sale for a steep discount during Amazon’s Big Spring Sale. Now available for $207.17 (was $271.54), this collector’s set includes all nine films in the Skywalker Saga–plus over 26 hours of bonus features. Amazon typically sells this collection for $270-$280, so you’re saving over $50 compared to the average price.
This collection originally released in the US in 2019 as a Best Buy exclusive for $225. Over in the UK, the set was exclusive to Amazon. With Best Buy no longer carrying Blu-rays, this 4K set hasn’t been available to purchase in from a North American store in years. As strange as it sounds, all Star Wars Blu-ray box sets need to be imported these days.
Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – Limited Edition Box Set (4K Blu-ray)
$207.17 (was $271.54)
Gallery
This collection originally released in the US in 2019 as a Best Buy exclusive. Over in the UK, the set was exclusive to Amazon. With Best Buy no longer carrying Blu-rays, this 4K set hasn’t been available to purchase in from a North American store in years. As strange as it sounds, all Star Wars Blu-ray box sets need to be imported these days.
Your order will ship directly from Amazon UK, but all of the discs are region-free, according to Amazon’s listing and many customer reviews.
Along with 4K versions of all nine Skywalker Saga films, it includes a wealth of bonus features for each movie. This includes a look at how pivotal scenes were filmed, interviews with the cast and crew, behind-the-scenes content, and more.
There are also a few physical collectibles, such as a black storage box with a Death Star design and a fold-out case with brilliant artwork large enough to hold all 27 discs. Amazon has limited inventory of the product, and at the time of writing, nearly 30% of units have been claimed.
The Skywalker Saga is available on 4K Blu-ray at stores in the US, but you’ll have to buy each film individually. For comparison, if you were to buy all nine movies listed below, you’d spend roughly $270.
Star Wars: Skywalker Saga 4K Blu-rays
Star Wars: Skywalker Saga Blu-ray Box Sets
If you want to pick up the Star Wars movies but $200-plus is too steep, standard 1080p Blu-ray box sets of The Skywalker Saga are also available at Amazon. Just like the 4K collection, all four box sets listed below are region-free imports. You can snag the full collection for $92. Alternatively, you can get a box set of your favorite of the three trilogies for $35-$44.
Amazon’s sale is offering big discounts on plenty of Blu-rays beyond Star Wars. In fact, some excellent films are now available for $13 or less. Many box sets and movies on 4K Blu-ray are also part of a massive B2G1 free event–allowing you to mix and match movies, books, and other items and get the cheapest of the three for free. All these sales run until March 31, though popular products will likely sell out before then.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – The South Carolina Department of Transportation announced the closure I-20 Eastbound off-ramp to I-26 Eastbound will temporarily close due to construction.
Officials said the construction is part of the Carolina Crossroads Project.
The closure will begin at 9 p.m. on Wednesday until 5 a.m. Thursday.
Traffic will be detoured to the I-20 Eastbound to I-26 Westbound Ramp and then will continue to use the interchange exit ramps until reaching I-26 Eastbound.
For more information, click here.
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EAU CLAIRE COUNTY, Wis. (WISDOT PRESS RELEASE) – The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is making motorists aware of some traffic changes coming in the following days on I-94.
Motorists can expect the following traffic changes in the coming days related to the pavement and bridge replacement project on I-94 from just west of US 53 in Eau Claire to Mallard Road in Eau Claire County.
Traffic on westbound I-94 is expected to be switched from the permanent lanes to temporary lanes built in the median from US 53 to Mallard Road Thursday afternoon.
County J in the town of Washington is expected to be closed to traffic at 6 a.m. Monday at I-94. County J at the interstate will remain closed until July, with traffic detoured via US 53, County D, County K and County JJ.
Both changes are necessary for crews to begin replacing the westbound I-94 pavement from Otter Creek to Mallard Road and the westbound I-94 bridge over County J.
For more information regarding traffic impacts, transportation news and improvement project updates in Wisconsin’s Northwest Region:
Follow us on Twitter: @WisDOTnorthwest
Visit the region’s 511 website: projects.511wi.gov/region/northwest/
Motorists are reminded that using handheld cell phones in Wisconsin work zones is illegal. Alerts and updates provided via these sites are not intended for use while driving. When driving, your focus should always be on driving.
Copyright 2025 WEAU. All rights reserved.

“I thought it was important that our teachers saw that their students really do care,” junior Theresa Lister, 16, one of the organizers of the demonstration, said in a phone interview afterward.
Hundreds of student protesters poured out of the school, many wearing red hoodies and carrying signs, such as “Save Our Teachers, Save Our Futures.”
NORTH ANDOVER — Students at North Andover High School walked out of classes Monday morning to protest looming staff cuts that could result in some 40 positions being eliminated.
School Committee Vice Chair Joe Hicks said on Facebook that his children participated in the demonstration, which included students from North Andover Middle School.
“I was at NAMS during the student walkout this morning for a previously scheduled meeting,” Hicks said. “My own children participated. I’m proud of them. They wanted to show how much they care for their teachers — in the same way that their teachers care for them. I’m proud of them for being thoughtful about how to use their voice.”
Assistant Superintendent Kristen Ando said in a statement that administrators value the students’ perspective.
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“We respect their desire to advocate and encourage respectful dialogue as part of the learning process during these challenging times,” Ando said. “We want to support students’ voices and thoughtful protest on issues important to them. This is an essential aspect of our democratic society, and one that our students study and learn about with us.”
Juliette Darmon, president of the North Andover Teachers Association, said in a statement Monday her group supported the action.
“We support the walkout and are thankful that our students … want to bring awareness to the massive cuts that our district is facing and that will directly affect their future if no change is made at town meeting on May 13th,” Darmon said in a statement.
North Andover High School students staged a walkout in support of their teachers and programs. They rallied on the football field before walking to the School Administration building. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff
North Andover High School students held signs during a walk-out. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff
The cuts affect staff from pre-K to Grade 12 as part of a proposed $68.2 million budget for the next fiscal year, the Eagle-Tribune reported, citing an email from Superintendent Pamela Lathrop sent to families Friday.
The school committee last month voted to recommend the $68.2 million budget for the next school year. Lathrop said the budget is $3.5 million shy of maintaining current services and requires cuts to bridge the gap, the newspaper reported.
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In a statement last week, union officials said they are “devastated over the loss of these educators. The impact this has on our teachers, students, families and community is deeply felt.”
The union said it’s also “continuing the fight to save North Andover Public Schools and stop these brutal and unnecessary cuts. These reductions to NAPS teaching staff are both troubling and confounding.”
The budget fight comes as many Massachusetts school districts are facing financial challenges, including inflation, rising costs for special education, health insurance, and transportation, as well as the loss of federal pandemic aid and state assistance that fails to keep pace with costs.
President Trump’s recent moves to disband the US Education Department have added to the uncertainty.
It was not clear how many students took part in the demonstration in North Andover, although Ando suggested turnout was sizable.
Ando said the school district remains “committed to working toward a budget that ensures the best possible outcomes for all students.”
North Andover High School students emerged from a side entrance during a walk-out in support of their teachers and programs. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.

The National Transportation Safety Board said a proper risk assessment by the state of Maryland may have avoided the deadly Key Bridge collapse in 2024, and the agency warned that dozens of other bridges are at similar risk throughout the United States.
The warning comes as part of the NTSB’s ongoing investigation into the March 2024 allision of the containership Dali with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which killed six road workers.
In a new report, the NTSB said it conducted a vulnerability assessment of the Key Bridge and found that the risk level was almost 30 times greater than the acceptable threshold for bridges considered essential to the national highway network.
“Had the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) conducted such an assessment based on recent vessel traffic, they would have been aware of this elevated risk,” the NTSB said in the report.

FALL CREEK, Wis. (BEAVER CREEK RESERVE PRESS RELEASE) – Beaver Creek Reserve is proud to announce the new addition of their all-terrain outdoor wheelchair thanks to the 85.21 Specialized Transportation Grant from Eau Claire County’s Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC)! ADRC’s financial support also included a trailer to house the wheelchair to keep it protected from weather and the battery charged when not in use.
For over 75 years, Beaver Creek has been “connecting people with nature” through visits to their Butterfly House, guided hikes, field trips, and public programming. With over 400-acres of land and 9-miles of trails, there is much to explore, and now thanks to ADRC, Beaver Creek Reserve has increased accessibility to paths beyond their paved trails at no expense for their visitors!
The outdoor wheelchair has caterpillar tracks that offer a smooth ride and reduces bouncing, a 360 degree turn radius, and can go on multiple different terrain types including concrete, sand, mud, ice, dirt, and gravel. The seat has two layers of foam to help with comfort and protection, an anti-thrust feature to minimize movement once positioned in the chair, and both lap and leg straps for safety. There are multiple different speed settings so you are able to stay on pace for a slow leisurely hike, or a faster excursion. All people, no matter their physical abilities, will be able to explore and discover Beaver Creek Reserve’s trailside treasures while joining friends, family, or guides on new outdoor adventures.
Everyone should be able to go outside and immerse themselves in nature! So for anyone who wishes to reserve the outdoor wheelchair, it is recommended to call Beaver Creek Reserve in advance, reservations are made on a first-come-first-served basis. Reservations can be made on the day of your visit if the wheelchair is available. It is free to use, however, a $50 deposit is required but returned once the chair is returned in good condition. The outdoor chair can be used for field trips, programs, special events, personal hikes, and more! It must stay on Beaver Creek Reserve property, and cannot be taken off-site. If you have any further questions, please contact Beaver Creek Reserve or check out their website for more details.
Copyright 2025 WEAU. All rights reserved.

Stock Transportation has come to an agreement with its bus and van drivers, avoiding a potential strike, but one group of workers — bus monitors — have not yet agreed to the company’s latest offer.
Over the lunch hour on Monday, Mar. 24, 2025, Tri-Board Student Transportation Services Inc. informed parents that they would not experience a school bus disruption previously planned for Tuesday, Mar. 25, 2025.
On March 18, 2025, Tri-Board had been advised by Stock Transportation that bus/van services would not be provided starting Tuesday, Mar. 25, 2025, due to an ongoing labour dispute, and that families affected would be responsible for making alternative travel arrangements for their students.
However, today, March 24, the bus transportation consortium said in a release, “Tri-Board has been advised by Stock Transportation that an agreement has been reached with its Drivers, meaning buses/vans will operate as normal, subject to regular delays and cancellations.”
Terry Gavas, Chief Union Steward of Teamsters Local 91, which represents Stock Transportation workers, confirmed late this afternoon that the drivers for Stock did vote in favour of accepting the company’s latest offer — but “the monitors voted the company’s latest offer down, and they will be in a legal strike position as of Tuesday, April 1, 2025.”
Although Stock has not yet come to an agreement with its monitors, Tri-Board said students will continue to be supported by monitors this week. Further communication to families of students on Stock routes that require monitors will be provided in the coming days as more information becomes available.
Tri-Board also stated, “This potential disruption to Monitor services will not impact HPEDSB [Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board] or PDSB [Peel District School Board] students.”
The release noted that “Tri-Board and the school boards have no influence over negotiations but are hopeful that an agreement between Monitors and their employer, Stock Transportation, can be reached quickly.”
Read more about Stock’s labour dispute at triboard.ca/stock-service-disruption25/

SAN JOSE — As the strike of Valley Transportation Authority workers entered its third week Monday, the union voted to reject the agency’s most recent contract offer.
The new proposal from VTA, which was given to the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 Sunday following a special board meeting, offered an 11% raise over three years in exchange for the union agreeing to proposals that would reduce absenteeism, as well as language regarding arbitration that both sides agreed to and a compromise regarding holidays.
The raise would be split into a 4% raise in the first year, a 4% raise in the second year and a 3% raise in the third year. The proposal would keep the operators as the fifth highest paid in the United States, the agency said on social media Monday.
ATU walked off the job March 10 after negotiations for a new contract fell apart the week before, primarily due to the two sides disagreeing on arbitration language and the size of a pay raise. The strike has left the roughly 100,000 people who use the VTA’s buses and trains each day without their normal transportation routes.
The new contract offer was rejected by 83% of voting members. Of the 1107 total ballots cast by union members, 919 were no votes and 188 were yes votes on the new contract proposal.
“Our members want to get back to work. The service our members provide this community is invaluable, and our customers have suffered greatly these past two weeks, and we want bus and light rail service restored immediately,” said ATU Local 265 President Raj Singh at a news conference Monday. “But our members will only return to work with a fair contract, one that guarantees their rights, their dignity and their safety.”
Singh attributed the results in part to the VTA’s “aggressive bargaining,” referencing the decision to present several items including revisions to the attendance and overtime policies in the most recent contract that had been previously removed from the conversation in January.
“Had they not done that, we might have had a different outcome,” Singh said. “But as a result of their actions and a lack of leadership from the board of directors, our members are going to continue to be on strike for the upcoming days.”
In a statement sent Monday afternoon, the VTA said that their most recent offer was “more than fair” and offered “competitive pay” and “strong benefits.”
“At a time when so many workers across industries are facing uncertainty and job losses, VTA is proud to offer stability and opportunity,” the agency said. “VTA’s latest proposal reflects our commitment to our workforce, and we urge our employees to embrace this chance to secure their future and return to work.”
The statement added that “negotiations remain open for ATU to come to the table with a request.”
Singh added that the union would request that the agency return to mediation. The union is also seeking a guarantee that union members will not face retaliation for going on strike, which the VTA has not offered in the two most recent contract proposals.
“[Our members] are sacrificing and suffering financially, but they know the significance of the items that we were trying to get in negotiations,” Singh said.
ATU was originally slated to vote Saturday on a proposal from the VTA that included a 10.5% raise over three years. Union leaders urged ATU members for a unanimous no vote because negotiations “hit a deadlock” and “the agency refuses to budge.”
The vote was postponed pending the updated offer from the VTA following the special board meeting. Over the weekend, ATU expressed concerns that the new proposal included rollbacks of overtime calculations and attendance policies.
The two sides were in negotiations for several days last week, which resulted in a compromise on a key sticking point of arbitration language. The union did not recieve the exact language it was requesting, Singh said, but agreed to a compromise to keep negotiations of other issues moving forward.
When contract negotiations first fell apart, the union was asking for an 18% raise over three years, while the transit agency was offering a 9% raise over the same time period.
The VTA is facing an estimated budget deficit exceeding $46 million for 2025, VTA Controller Jayden Sangha said last week, adding that any additional raises for employees would dig the agency deeper into the deficit and would likely result in layoffs down the line.
Singh said at the press conference that the union does not “believe there’s any truth behind” the potential of layoffs.
The VTA also filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the strike on the grounds that the union was breaking a “no strike” clause in their previous contract. The two sides are set to appear before a judge Wednesday.
Staff writer Jason Green contributed to this report.

When Mike Wallace interviewed Salvador Dalí in 1958, the painter seemed to believe that he might live forever. Asked what he believed would happen to him when he died, the Surrealist replied,

Federal funding for public transportation in urban areas is based on a statutory formula set in law to support transit. Kootenai County was allocated $2,870,350 USD last year. Post Falls alone contributed $41,000 USD. Over 100,000 people ride the bus annually. I demand Citylink to explain why half of Post Falls has no routes west of Spokane Street to the Washington border. Many people rely on public transportation: veterans, medical, legal and employment purposes. If reported, Kootenai County could lose all its Federal funding. It blows my mind that in the year 2025 we still have people making tunnel vision, closed minded decisions. Simpletons!
JERROD JESSICK
Coeur d’Alene

Some more insight is now available into what may have led a Delta plane to flip over upon landing last month in Toronto, via a preliminary report released Thursday by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. NBC News notes that although the report didn’t pin down a definitive cause for the Feb. 17 crash at Pearson Airport, it did find that the plane carrying 80 people from Minneapolis had descended at a high rate of speed. According to the TSB, the Bombardier CRJ-900’s alert system indicated the aircraft had been traveling at 155mph just three seconds or so before it touched down, the AP reports.
Per the New York Times, the plane was dropping at 1,100 feet per minute at that point—

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!
Before we jump into the news, just a quick bit of housekeeping. I’m putting “This week’s wheels” on hiatus for a few weeks as I get into more EVs, hybrids, e-bikes, and robotaxis. Stay tuned!
A little bird
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
Waymo reached a deal with the San Francisco Airport Commission — and by extension the city — to use its vehicles to map the airport roadways. That news received widespread coverage because of the potential for the city to eventually give Waymo permission to expand its robotaxi service to the airport. For now, this only covers mapping and the vehicles will be manually driven.
Some little birds shared with us the terms of the agreement, which include two important points. One source described these as “concessions.” And it’s likely these terms will show up in future agreements.
Waymo has agreed to data-sharing after each mapping session per vehicle, according to the agreement that TechCrunch viewed. This “data interface agreement” requires Waymo to track its vehicles as they enter and exit the airport and provide the time, geographic location, identification, trip identifier, transaction type, driver-based unique identifier, and vehicle license plate number, according to the agreement.
The agreement also prohibits Waymo from using autonomous vehicles to move commercial goods. Sure Waymo no longer has a self-driving trucks program, but language like this matters for groups like the Teamsters.
Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.
Deals!
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
Just a few deals this week …
Coreshell, the battery materials startup, raised $24 million in a Series A2 round led by Ferroglobe, which is also Coreshell’s silicon supplier. Asymmetry Ventures, Estrada Ventures, Foothill Ventures, Helios Climate Ventures, Lane Venture, Translink Investment, Trousdale Ventures, and Zeon Ventures also participated.
Einride, the Swedish driverless truck startup, is in talks about filing for an IPO that could value the company at more than $5 billion, Financial Times reported.
Evera, a French EV subscription startup, raised 2 million euro from Groupe Magellim and Newfund NAEH Innopy, MCapital, AstoryaVC, and business angel Eric Ibled.
Leta, the African logistics software-as-a-service provider, raised $5 million in seed funding led by European VC firm Speedinvest. Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Equator, an Africa-focused climate tech fund, also participated.
Pulsetrain, a battery tech startup, secured €6.1 million in a seed round co-led by Vsquared Ventures and Planet. Climate Club also joined.
Seadronix, a South Korea-based autonomous ship navigation company, raised $11.3 million in a Series B funding round that included new investors LB Investment, KB Investment, and the Korea Development Bank. The fund included existing backers Wonik Investment Partners and Lighthouse Combined Investment.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
Autonomous vehicles
Ever wonder what inspired Nvidia to go “all in” on self-driving cars? Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang snuck in a history lesson during his GTC keynote. Speaking of Nvidia’s GTC conference, there was a bunch of AV-related announcements. Check out this roundup, which covers deals with Gatik, GM, Torc, and more.
Zoox issued a voluntary recall for 258 vehicles due to issues with its autonomous driving system that could cause unexpected hard braking.
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries
BYD announced new EV charging technology that, if it comes to fruition, will blow away the competition and be as fast as fueling up a gas-powered car.
Honda and its luxury and performance brand Acura will gain access to the Tesla Supercharger network in June. Dig in: We have a handy roundup of all the brands that have access.
Tesla and Rivian are nailing the EV-charging experience. The two companies have the fewest problems, according to a survey by Consumer Reports. The worst: Shell’s Recharge network, EVgo, and Blink.
Meanwhile, Tesla is not doing so well with the Cybertruck — even though it continues to outsell other EV trucks. The automaker issued a recall for around 46,000 Cybertrucks sold to date because of an exterior steel trim panel on the side of the windshield that can peel off.
And finally, and still on the Tesla front, analyst Dan Ives at Wedbush Securities pleaded with Elon Musk in a note published Thursday to reduce his role working with the Department of Government Efficiency. He said Musk is facing a “moment of truth” at his EV company because of a “crisis” he’s created by spending so much time in the Trump administration.
Future of flight
Joby Aviation has partnered with Virgin Atlantic to launch electric air taxis in the U.K., marking the seventh country in which the startup hopes to one day commercialize. Reminder: We first reported on this potential partnership in our “A little bird” section last year.
In-car tech
Well, I suppose this is an in-car and out-of-the-car tech story. I’m talking about the expanded collaboration between GM and Nvidia, which was announced at the GTC conference. TL;DR: GM will work with Nvidia to build custom AI systems using several of the tech giant’s products. The idea is to bring AI to GM’s physical world of factories, robots, and cars. More details here.
Tesla received a permit from the California Public Utilities Commission, news that some have conflated or inaccurately reported on. Here’s what Tesla can and cannot do with this transportation charter permit.

Eminem performs onstage at Live from Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central

Gov. Hochul’s cross-town bus ride Friday had been planned as an act of resistance — a demonstration of the lack of traffic, scheduled for the day the feds had tried to order her to turn the state’s congestion tolling system off.
Instead, less than a day after President Trump’s transportation secretary unexpectedly walked the deadline back, Hochul did a victory lap proclaiming traffic down in the congestion zone with the program set to survive at least 30 more days.
“Today’s an important day,” Hochul declared at a rally in Chelsea near the end of the M14 bus line.
“The cameras are staying on — they sure as hell are,” she said to cheers from assembled transit advocates.
“This was not an easy journey — countless lawsuits, people going on television constantly berating us, saying it wouldn’t work,” Hochul said.
“I want them to come here now and feel a very different New York City,” she added. “It is not jammed and stuck in traffic, we are moving once again.”
According to the latest data from the MTA — which administers the toll and is the beneficiary of its revenue — traffic in the congestion tolling zone was down 11% last month over 2024. Traffic on the bridge and tunnel crossings into Midtown and lower Manhattan are traveling at speeds up to 30% faster than last year.
Recent polling has found that the toll, which charges most motorists $9 a day to drive on surface streets in the tolling zone, is gaining support among city residents. The toll is charged with reducing vehicular traffic while raising money for a slate of specific MTA capital projects.
But Trump has sought to kill congestion pricing — which was adopted into state law in 2019, approved by federal regulators in 2024, and went into effect in January — since the start of his second term.
In February, Trump’s transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, claimed he could instantly revoke a federal authorization to initiate the toll given by the Biden administration in 2024 following a lengthy environmental review process.
The MTA immediately sued, claiming Duffy’s order was unconstitutional. The feds have yet to respond to that suit.
Duffy tried again, demanding Hochul end the program by March 21 — something the governor said she wouldn’t do absent a court order.
As that deadline loomed Thursday, Duffy walked back the deadline by tweet, saying New York now had 30 more days to comply — and threatening to take away federal funding if Hochul didn’t turn the cameras off.
“Know that the billions of dollars the federal government sends to New York are not a blank check,” he wrote Thursday. “Continued noncompliance will not be taken lightly.”
Asked about the Trump regime’s use of funding as a cudgel Friday, Hochul brushed it off.
“I feel confident in the long-term viability of congestion pricing, which is a significant funding source,” she said. “The threats? I think there’s always going to be threats coming out of Washington — tweets from secretaries.
“I have a direct communication line to the president,” she added. “I feel confident that we’ll find a path forward that sustains this important source of — not just revenue but a way that stimulates a quality of life and a vitality that we’ve not seen in this city for a long time.”

CHICAGO – Hundreds of bicycle advocates were at an annual summit this month in Washington, D.C., when their cellphones lit up over breakfast with an urgent email warning that President Donald Trump’s transportation department had just halted federal grant funding for bike lanes.
As the administration targets green energy projects championed by former President Joe Biden that boosted transit, recreational trails and bicycle infrastructure, several states are banding together to advance those priorities on their own.
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California, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania joined forces for a national organizing effort dubbed the Clean Rides Network. The group gained momentum in various statehouses this year on environmentally friendly transportation projects it contends the federal government has abandoned.
“These are changes we need to make anyway, but they’re more urgent than ever,” said Justin Balik, senior state program director for the environmental advocacy group Evergreen Action and one of the organizers of the Clean Rides Network. “I’ve been calling the state departments of transportation the next frontier of climate advocacy.”
Trading highway expansion for buses
Although Colorado wasn’t among the seven charter members of the Clean Rides Network, a policy enacted there set the framework for one of its most ambitious goals.
In 2021, Gov. Jared Polis committed to a dramatic reduction in Colorado’s greenhouse gas emissions and employed a novel approach to accelerate the timeline. Whenever the state’s transportation department commits money to a large-scale project that increases vehicle traffic such as a new highway, it must also pursue a corresponding project to offset the environmental harms.
Two major highway expansion projects were canceled because of the policy, said Matt Frommer of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project. The group advocated for the change.
Colorado used the savings to expand an intercity bus service that has soared in popularity for urban residents and tourists traveling to ski resorts.
Polis’ vision lined up with the multimodal transportation aims under the $1.1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law Biden signed that year. In the final months of Biden’s administration, the city of Denver won a $150 million federal grant to build a rapid transit bus line along one of its busiest corridors.
Frommer, a transportation and land use policy manager, said there are fears that states will now have to pursue projects like that on their own.
“If your state cares about climate change, you need to take the reins and step up and direct your transportation funds to projects that are going to reduce emissions,

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Puppy Palooza continues with spcaLA pet adoption fees waived this weekend
Our Puppy Palooza adoption event on Friday featured 23 puppies from spcaLA looking for forever homes!
Our Puppy Palooza adoption event on Friday featured 23 puppies from spcaLA looking for forever homes!
Our Puppy Palooza adoption event on Friday featured 23 puppies from spcaLA looking for forever homes!
Our Puppy Palooza adoption event on Friday featured 23 puppies from spcaLA looking for forever homes!
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — March 23 is National Puppy Day, but we started the celebration a little early with our bi-annual Puppy Palooza adoption event.
Friday morning, we featured 23 adoptable pooches from spcaLA.
There are still six of those orignial 23 puppies available for adoption.
Gus & Rascal are available at 7700 East Spring St. in Long Beach, open 10 a.m.-3 p.m. this weekend.
Lily, Koda, Tulip and Rose are available at 5026 W Jefferson Blvd. in Los Angeles, open 11 a.m.-3 p.m on Saturday and Sunday.
Thanks to our generous sponsors, Howard’s Appliances and Second Chance Mission, all pet adoption fees at all three spcaLA locations are waived through Sunday!
spcaLA has a third location at 12910 Yukon Avenue in Hawthorne.
Information on spcaLA locations and hours can be found here.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA) was the first organization to promote animal welfare in Southern California, incorporated in 1877. They are dedicated to the prevention of cruelty to animals through education, law enforcement, intervention and advocacy. Donate at spcaLA/donate.
Our Puppy Palooza adoption event on Friday featured 23 puppies from spcaLA who are looking for homes!
Support spcaLA by purchasing a Puppy Palooza-inspired t-shirt designed by a local artist!
ADOPTION DETAILS FROM spcaLA:
All spcaLA adoption requirements apply.
Adoptions include age appropriate vaccinations, spaying or neutering, a free veterinary examination, and microchip.
Additional fees may apply for medications, spay/neuter deposit.
Save time by submitting an adoption application in advance at spcaLA.com/adopt.
Submitting an application does not reserve or hold animal, or guarantee adoption.
Applications are approved and sometimes are denied.
Must be 18 or older to adopt.
Bring your valid government-issued photo identification.
Bring all human family members, too. If a dog is in the home, a dog-to-dog intro may be required.
If leasing/renting, please bring management contact information/lease; if townhome or condominium owner, please bring CCR/HOA documents for proof that pets are permitted.
Please bring adequate time and patience – adoptions can take 45 minutes to 1 hour.
If several parties present express interest in the same pet simultaneously, spcaLA will enter potential adopters into a

Community Corner Fire Damages LA’s Iconic Pacific Dining Car The one-time celebrity mainstay featured in

A waterfront residence in Panama City, Florida that was recently showcased on HGTV’s popular “House Hunters,” is poised to list for $3.6 million, The Post has learned.
The four-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom home is situated on the secluded Northshore Islands in North Bay — and made its on-screen premiere on Jan. 1.
In the episode, Scott and Chastain Lewis, high school sweethearts, are looking to leave Atlanta for the serene waterfront of Panama City.
12 The enclave where the home sits is shared by only several other residences. Watts Up Media
12 The home occupies over 5,100 square feet. Watts Up Media
Scott is set on finding a property with bay access for his boat and is prepared to invest up to $3 million, while Chastain has her heart set on a home with a white sandy beach, keeping their budget at $2.5 million.
This particular home stood out as the first of three they explored on the show — and it ultimately became their top choice.
While the episode did not air until this year, the couple filmed the episode in 2023 and purchased the home that year for $2.76 million, records show. And now, they’re looking to move on to the next chapter.
In the episode, they mention they own an electrical company. The years since have seen their business grow in Georgia and Tennessee, we hear — and they now wish to live in a location that’s central to them all.
Made up of 5,000-plus square feet, the residence they’re now leaving behind is largely quite private, sharing only a few neighbors.
12 The home was featured on House Hunters on Jan. 1, 2025. HGTV
Designed by local architect J. Michael Hunnicutt, the three-story home reflects a modern aesthetic, bolstered by insulated concrete form construction, smooth stucco finishes and barreled rooflines.
Carly Sostheim of Corcoran Reverie holds the listing.
The estate caters to a discerning buyer seeking both leisure and functionality, Sostheim told The Post.
12 The kitchen. Watts Up Media
12 The dining room. Watts Up Media
12 A living area. Watts Up Media
A 350-foot deep-water dock provides immediate Gulf access, complemented by an included 2021 Berretta pontoon, with proximity to fishing grounds and Shell Island.
The outdoor amenities extend to a saltwater pool and spa, framed by travertine tile and glass, alongside a fully appointed summer kitchen.
Inside, the home features high ceilings, expansive windows, and a meticulously crafted kitchen with custom walnut cabinets and Caesarstone quartz surfaces.
12 A third level lounge space. Watts Up Media
12 One of four bedrooms. Watts Up Media
12 An ensuite bathroom. Watts Up Media
Sostheim emphasizes the listing’s unique positioning, stating its architecture is “like no other.”
“Situated with a highly desirable east-west orientation, this home provides 180-degree bay views from the rear elevation and 180-degree island views from the front elevation.”
The layout ensures that every bedroom captures serene water views, while covered patios on each level — secured with tempered glass railings — offer unobstructed vistas, including a terrace off a barrel-ceilinged office.
12 The loggia. Watts Up Media
12 The observation deck. Watts Up Media
12 The outdoor kitchen. Watts Up Media
Apart from its on-screen history, it’s the home’s many features that also let it stand out.
“This home captures all that is alluring of the Florida lifestyle,” Sostheim notes.

A rare scare.
A “Hot Ones” hot sauce featured on the show’s recent episode with Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco has been recalled by the FDA for potential plastic contamination.
However, the celebrity couple were not served hot sauce from any bottles affected by the recall during their appearance on the popular YouTube show, a spokesperson for Heatonist — which makes all of the “Hot Ones”-branded sauces — told The Post on Friday.
“To be clear: none of the hot sauce bottles used on the show were part of the limited batches subject to the recall,” the rep insisted.
12 A “Hot Ones” hot sauce featured on the show’s recent episode with Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco has been recalled by the FDA for potential plastic contamination. First We Feast/YouTube
12 However, the celebrity couple were not served hot sauce from any bottles affected by the recall during their appearance on the popular YouTube show, according to a spopkesperson for the company that makes the sauce. First We Feast/YouTube
12 Selena Gomez on “Hot Ones.” First We Feast/YouTube
“No guests on ‘Hot Ones’ were served any hot sauce that falls under this recall,” they added.
Two “Hot Ones” sauces — the Hot Ones Los Calientes Verde Hot Sauce and Hot Ones Los Calientes Rojo Hot Sauce — were impacted by the recall.
“We identified nearly all of the affected bottles before they left our warehouse,” the spokesperson said. “Currently, the unaccounted recalled products are isolated to a small number of bottles that may have reached a handful of retail partners.”
12 “No guests on ‘Hot Ones’ were served any hot sauce that falls under this recall,” a spokesperson told The Post. First We Feast/YouTube
12 Benny Blanco on “Hot Ones.” First We Feast/YouTube
12 Selena Gomez digs into a spicy wing on “Hot Ones.” First We Feast/YouTube
“We have notified those retail partners and instructed them to check the lot codes and dispose of any impacted shipments.”
They continued, “This is a Class II recall, meaning the likelihood of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”
According to the FDA’s website, a “Class II” recall is “a situation in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”
12 Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez appeared on “Hot Ones” to promote their new album. First We Feast/YouTube
12 Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez on “Hot Ones.”
12 Two “Hot Ones” sauces — the Hot Ones Los Calientes Verde Hot Sauce and Hot Ones Los Calientes Rojo Hot Sauce — were impacted by the recall. First We Feast/YouTube
The Heatonist rep also told The Post, “Our manufacturing partner has identified the source of the plastic material. We are confident that this was an isolated issue that has been addressed at the manufacturing kitchen. We take food quality and safety very seriously and thank our community and partners for their support during this process.”
Anyone who has purchased a “Hot Ones” sauce affected by the recall who is concerned about their bottle can reach out to Heatonist at ilovehotsauce@heatonist.com or by calling 718-599-0838.
The FDA announced the recall on Wednesday. The Karma Sauce Company LLC initiated the recall on February 14.
12 Anyone who has purchased a “Hot Ones” sauce effected by the recall who is concerned about their bottle can reach out to Heatonist at ilovehotsauce@heatonist.com or by calling 718-599-0838. Hot Headz
12 The FDA announced the recall on Wednesday. The Karma Sauce Company LLC initiated the recall on February 14. Hot Headz
12 Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco during the 97th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Mar. 2, 2025. AMPAS/AFP via Getty Images
More than 50,000 bottles of varying sizes — five ounces, one gallon, and five gallons — shipped to locations in North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois were included in the recall.
According to the FDA website, the recall is ongoing.
The “Hot Ones” Rojo sauce brand was included on other episodes of the show’s 26th season, which has featured Kevin Hart and Bad Bunny in addition to Blanco, 37, and Gomez, 32.
The Post has reached out to representatives for Gomez, Blanco, “Hot Ones” host Sean Evans and the FDA.

With one day left to go on the Trump administration’s March 21 deadline for New York to end its congestion pricing toll, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy posted a “30-day extension” notice to social media Thursday afternoon.
While Duffy restated the administration’s demand for Gov. Hochul to end the tolling program, which charges most motorists $9 a day to drive south of 60th St. in Manhattan, he also extended the window 30 days as talks are ongoing.
“The federal government and @POTUS are putting New York on notice,” Duffy tweeted in an X post addressed to Gov. Hochul. “Your refusal to end cordon pricing and your open disrespect towards the federal government is unacceptable,” he continued.
“We will provide New York with a 30-day extension as discussions continue,” Duffy wrote. “Know that the billions of dollars the federal government sends to New York are not a blank check,” he threatened. “Continued noncompliance will not be taken lightly.”
The delay comes as New York elected officials and transit honchos reaffirmed their intention to ignore the federal deadline absent a court order.
“Let me be clear, these attacks on congestion pricing are an attack on New York’s sovereignty,” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D – Manhattan) said Thursday — prior to Duffy’s post — during a small rally at the Brooklyn Bridge. “New York has the right to govern itself, to implement policies that improve the lives of its residents, and to make decisions that benefit our infrastructure and our economy.”
MTA CEO Janno Lieber has repeatedly said the toll would remain in place unless and until a judge ordered otherwise.
The toll is tasked with reducing vehicular traffic while raising money for MTA capital projects — was approved last year and went into effect in early January.
In mid-February, Duffy claimed to have retroactively revoked a key federal authorization for the toll that had been given by his predecessor — a move that prompted trump to declare himself “king” on social media.
The MTA immediately filed suit in New York federal court, claiming Duffy’s orders were unconstitutional. The Trump administration has yet to file any response in that case.
Duffy’s tweet is not the first time the feds have attempted to use future transit funding as a cudgel.
In a letter sent to Lieber earlier this week, Duffy demanded a litany of stats — much of it already publicly available — as to crime trends and funding in the subway system.
“I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter to avoid further consequences, up to and including redirecting or withholding funding,” Duffy wrote, giving the transit agency a March 31 deadline to provide the information.
MTA officials said earlier this week that they would be happy to help the feds find the crime data.

Mulroney, the country’s 18th prime minister, died on Feb. 29, 2024 at the age of 84
Canada Post has unveiled a new stamp in recognition of former prime minister Brian Mulroney.
The stamp, according to a news release from Canada Post Thursday (March 20) features a

Summary WWE will bring the Road to WrestleMania across Europe over the next three weeks.
WWE will make 11 city stops throughout the continent, with consecutive RAW and SmackDown episodes taking center stage.
Raw and SmackDown episodes are scheduled in Europe with different start times.
With just about a month to go before WrestleMania 41, the Road to the Grandest Stage of Them All is already heating up. Following his earth-shattering heel turn at Elimination Chamber, John Cena is set to have multiple face-offs with Cody Rhodes, the man he brutalized in Toronto. Likewise, The Rock should also grace the WWE Universe with his presence now that the leader of Cenation sold his soul to The Final Boss.
Moreover, Roman Reigns returned during the Madison Square Garden edition of Raw and unleashed a brutal attack on both Seth Rollins and CM Punk. Their intertwined rivalries should only intensify even further over the next few weeks. Apart from these two major sagas, plenty of other stories are going on in the Road to WrestleMania. Jey Uso will look to get some revenge on Gunther as the World Heavyweight Champion has had the 2025 men’s Royal Rumble winner’s number over the last couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, the Women’s Royal Rumble winner, Charlotte Flair, has also had the upper hand on the WWE Women’s Champion, Tiffany Stratton. In addition, the Women’s World Championship story is becoming more intriguing by the week with Rhea Ripley looking to re-insert herself back into the picture with the champion, Iyo Sky, and the No. 1 contender, Bianca Belair. Luckily for wrestling fans in Europe, all these and more will unfold as WWE takes a historic route across the continent during the biggest time of the year.
WWE Makes Historic Tour in Europe
Superstars parade around 11 cities across the continent
Credit: WWE
The WWE has been looking to expand globally and Europe has become one of the company’s hotbeds for passionate and electric energy from fans. In 2024, the Stamford-based promotion held three Premium Live Events in the continent: Backlash in Lyon, France, Clash at the Castle in Glasgow, Scotland, and Bash In Berlin in Berlin, Germany. Lyon, in particular, gave us one of the greatest crowds in recent memory.
With the passion that European fans have shown over the years, WWE has decided to bring the Road to WrestleMania across the continent. Announced in November 2024, the tour officially commenced on the March 14th edition of SmackDown. The road will take us all the way to the March 31st episode of Raw. For the first time in history, Raw and SmackDown episodes will take place in Europe for three consecutive weeks. In addition, wrestling fans will also get the opportunity to see their favorite wrestlers in person as several WWE Road to WrestleMania Live Events will take place in three straight weekends. Overall, the European Tour will make stops in nine countries and 11 cities.
WWE Europe Tour 2025 Date Show Venue City March 14 Friday Night SmackDown Olimpic Arena Barcelona, Spain March 15 Road to WrestleMania Live Event Westfalenhalle Dortmund, Germany March 16 Road to WrestleMania Live Event ZAG Arena Hannover, Germany March 17 Monday Night Raw Forest National Brussels, Belgium March 21 Friday Night SmackDown Unipol Arena Bologna, Italy March 22 Road to WrestleMania Live Event SSE Arena Belfast, Northern Ireland March 23 Road to WrestleMania Live Event Motorpoint Arena Nottingham, England March 24 Monday Night Raw OVO Hydro Glasgow, Scotland March 28 Friday Night SmackDown O2 Arena London, England March 29 Road to WrestleMania Live Event Wiener Stadthalle Vienna, Austria March 30 Road to WrestleMania Live Event Ziggo Dome Amsterdam, Netherlands March 31 Monday Night Raw O2 Arena London, England
With the best superstars in the world taking their talents across the pond, the WWE is set to operate in a different time zone. As such, start times for Raw and SmackDown will deviate from their usual schedule over the next three weeks. This may lead to some confusion among fans, especially in North America.
SmackDown Europe Tour: Venue, Schedule, Superstars Advertised
Credit: WWE
As noted, the Europe Tour kicked off in Spain as SmackDown took over the Olimpic Arena on March 14th. Wrestling fans internationally will still be able to watch SmackDown live, thanks to Netflix. However, fans in the United States will not be able to catch the action in real time. This is due to the USA Network’s exclusivity rights to broadcast WWE SmackDown on television. As such, wrestling fans in the US will only be able to view the episode via tape delay when SmackDown airs on the USA Network at 8PM ET.
Superstars advertised are based one wrestlers listed on each show’s page on the WWE website.
March 21: Unipol Arena — Bologna, Italy
SmackDown kicked off the Europe Tour at Barcelona with a bang as new tag team champions were crowned with the Street Profits defeating DIY in the main event. It should only get better when the show makes a stop in Bologna, Italy this Friday.
With Raw in Brussels focusing on John Cena’s first appearance since his heel turn, this week’s SmackDown will put the limelight on Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins. The OTC has already been scheduled to make his first SmackDown appearance since he returned. As a recipient of a brutal attack, Punk also vowed to appear on the Blue brand to confront the Head of the Table for his actions. Seeing that his two biggest rivals will be in Italy this Friday, Rollins also declared that he has no intention of missing the party.
Apart from the three-way confrontation between the three biggest stars in the business, a behemoth battle will once again take place as Braun Strowman is set to have a rematch with the Samoan Werewolf, Jacob Fatu. The last time these two beasts wrestled each other, Fatu decimated the Monster Among Men. Moreover, Liv Morgan will take on Jade Cargill as the two look to settle a score on each other.
Superstars advertised for the March 21st SmackDown episode:
Cody Rhodes
Roman Reigns
CM Punk
Charlotte Flair
Randy Orton
Tiffany Stratton
LA Knight
Bianca Belair
Seth Rollins
March 28: O2 Arena — London, England
Superstars advertised for the March 28th SmackDown episode:
Cody Rhodes
Roman Reigns
CM Punk
Charlotte Flair
Randy Orton
Tiffany Stratton
LA Knight
Bianca Belair
Seth Rollins
Related Why WWE fans in the US Can’t Watch SmackDown Live This Friday This week’s WWE SmackDown is already looking like a stacked show as the Road to WrestleMania continues to heat up.
Raw Europe Tour: Venue, Schedule, Superstars Advertised
Credit: WWE
RAW was a must-watch as Cena appeared for the first time since his heinous attack on Rhodes at Elimination Chamber. The 16-time world champion was greeted with a chorus of boos from the Brussels crowd. Speaking for the first time since the heel turn, Cena went off and expressed his disdain for the WWE fans.
Unlike SmackDown, wrestling fans in the United States won’t have any issues watching RAW live as the WWE’s flagship program is available for livestream on Netflix. However, US fans will have to tune in early as the start times will mostly be in the afternoon—either at 3PM ET/12PM PT, or 4PM ET/ 1PM PT.
John Cena is scheduled to appear in the two remaining episodes of RAW during this tour. Likewise, rumors surfaced about The Rock potentially appearing on one of these dates alongside the 16-time world champion.
Related John Cena Explains Why he Turned Heel on WWE Raw John Cena has spoken for the first time since he turned heel during WWE Elimination Chamber.
March 24: OVO Hydro — Glasgow, Scotland
Next week’s WWE Raw episode will be in Glasgow, Scotland as John Cena and Cody Rhodes are set to have another face-off following their tense confrontation this past week. While Cena had a lot to say to the WWE Universe, he didn’t get many words in for his WrestleMania 41 opponent. Rhodes, meanwhile, sent a huge message to the No. 1 contender for his Undisputed WWE Championship and promised to end Cena’s farewell tour prematurely at the Grandest Stage of Them All.
That was only the tip of the iceberg on what should be an exciting Road to WrestleMania between the two rivals. Next week’s crowd at Glasgow should be in for a treat as Rhodes and Cena’s story continues to unfold. While Raw in Brussels started at 3PM ET/12 PM PT, this week’s Raw in Scotland will begin at 4PM ET/1 PM PT.
Superstars advertised for the March 24th Raw episode:
John Cena
Cody Rhodes
Gunther
Liv Morgan
Jey Uso
Rhea Ripley
AJ Styles
March 31: O2 Arena — London, England
Superstars advertised for the March 31st Raw episode:
John Cena
Cody Rhodes
Gunther
Liv Morgan
Jey Uso
Rhea Ripley
AJ Styles

The Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus is $160 off right now $539 99 $699 99 $160 off (23%) The 16/256GB Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus just dropped to an all-time low at the official store. The complete tablet bundle with a keyboard and stylus can now be yours for $160 off. This is an exclusive deal you won’t find anywhere else besides the Lenovo Store. Buy at Lenovo
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Galaxy Tab S9
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If you’re seeking the perfect Galaxy Tab S9+ alternative that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, you should check out Lenovo’s Yoga Tab Plus. This bad boy comes with its own keyboard and stylus at a very decent price of $699.99. But now, thanks to Lenovo’s featured sale, you can get it with a huge $160 discount.For context, this latest bargain knocks the mid-rangeto $539.99, a lovely asking price. Not only that, this discount is also a first-time occurrence. The model was previously available with a $100 discount at Best Buy and the official store. In other words, you can now buy it at its lowest price ever.While it might not be as popular as theseries, this Android 14 slate has a lot to offer. First of all, it features a fantastic 12.7-inch 3K display with 144Hz refresh rates and Dolby Vision support. While it’s not an OLED panel, you still get satisfactory brightness levels and DCI-P3 color coverage, ensuring a broader, more vibrant range of colors for lifelike visuals.Aside from that, this bad boy features a high-class Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip under the hood. It should handle everyday tasks effortlessly and excel in anything else you put it through. Moreover, it comes with 16GB RAM onboard, plus artificial intelligence features like Lenovo AI Now, which lets you easily retrieve info, summarize content, ask questions, and more.Unlike some Android tablets , this buddy comes with a high-class speaker system, too. You have six Harman Kardon speakers on deck, which support Dolby Atmos for a more immersive audio experience. Additionally, the slate gets Android 15 as a final OS version and security updates until 2029.As you can see, the Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus delivers quite a bit. It may not be your first choice at its standard price, but now that it’s $160 off and bundled with a stylus and keyboard, it’s simply irresistible. Get it before Lenovo’s featured deal ends.

Is Giannis Antetokounmpo somehow flying under the radar this season? Only two players in the NBA rank in the top 10 in scoring and rebounding. Nikola Jokic (third with 29.1 PPG, third with 12.8 RPG) is in the NBA MVP discussion along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Meanwhile, you don’t hear about Antetokounmpo’s insane numbers (second with 30.4 PPG, sixth with 12.1 RPG) nearly as often. He also became the sixth-youngest player ever and 52nd player overall to hit the 20,000 career points milestone.
Even with all of Antetokounmpo’s incredible individual achievements, the Milwaukee Bucks are tied for fourth in the Eastern Conference at 38-29 along with the Indiana Pacers. If Milwaukee wants home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, it will need to finish off the season strong. A major test awaits for the Bucks, as they have five road contests in a row, starting Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors at 10 p.m. ET.
In this matchup, Milwaukee opened as a 2.5-point road underdog to Golden State, but this spread has swung to Milwaukee -3.5. The Bucks are -158 (bet $158 to win $100) on the money line according to SportsLine consensus, while the Warriors are +133 (bet $100 to win $133) underdogs.
But what if you want to bet on player props, especially on whether Antetokounmpo has a monster effort in a key road game? The SportsLine model has you covered. It continuously refreshes the most recent available data and can help you spot the biggest discrepancies in the lines. The SportsLine model, which can be found on every game forecast page on SportsLine under the

Transflo on Monday unveiled its latest technology update for Workflow AI for Carriers, a back-office automation solution for document processing for the trucking industry. The update debuted at the Truckload Carriers Association’s annual event in Phoenix.
Lars Ward, vice president of automation solutions at Transflo, told FreightWaves that traditionally, tasks such as document management and invoice processing have been labor-intensive and prone to human error. Workflow AI looks to minimize inefficiencies by integrating AI into key operational processes. The solutions dashboard also provides real-time visibility into operational metrics and allows users to track document activity, compare load-to-document completion ratios and monitor exception resolution performance.
Workflow AI also helps address operation problems that affect cash flow management. Carriers can reduce invoice lag by as much as 80%, according to the company, through these automated workflows, leading to faster payment cycles. Current users have seen 75% no-touch document readiness for invoicing, saving some carriers over 15 hours per week in administrative tasks, according to Transflo.
“Running the back office is incredibly hard. The back office does not get the love it deserves, and we’re creating technologies to empower it. One way is considering the carrier’s speed to cash. We want to help our carriers get paid quicker, so we are incredibly focused on eliminating manual data entry and providing them with the best workflow automation,” Ward said.

The Bachelor season 29 featured Sarafiena Watkins as one of the 25 women competing for leading man Grant Ellis’ heart, and she’s been keeping busy since the show ended. Sarafiena, a 29-year-old associate media director from New York, New York, and Grant, a now-31-year-old day trader from Newark, New Jersey, had a strong connection during the show. They bungee jumped off of a bridge on their one-on-one date in Madrid, where Sarafiena also admitted to him that she was holding back while kissing him because her mom was watching.
Throughout The Bachelor season 29, Sarafiena was a bit of a polarizing figure. While she seemed like a good match for Grant, her conflicts with the other women put a dark cloud over her experience. Early in the season, Sarafiena commented that Zoe McGrady was wearing the shortest dress she’d ever seen, which greatly upset Zoe. She also had drama with Carolina Sofia throughout the season. Here’s what Sarafiena’s been up to since Grant said goodbye to her right before his hometown dates.
Sarafiena Appeared On The ‘Women Tell All’
via Disney+
During The Bachelor season 29

Rockwell’s incredible versatility as an actor is on full display in

The iPhone 17 Air was being explored with a ‘portless’ design, which would make it the first time that Apple would introduce such a massive change, no doubt inviting a barrage of controversy with this release. While the Cupertino giant could use the term ‘courage’ again to describe its decision taken with the portless iPhone the same way it did when it removed the 3.5mm audio jack from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus launch, thankfully, sanity prevailed, and the company decided against this decision, and we all have the EU to thank for this.
The EU would have likely banned the portless iPhone 17 Air from launching in several countries while also penalizing Apple with a bevy of fines
The transition to an all ‘USB-C’ affair started when the EU made it compulsory for companies like Apple to add this port to all of its products, so it is no surprise that the iPhone 17 Air shipping with no charging port would have placed the company in the European Union’s crosshairs. According to Mark Gurman’s ‘Power On’ newsletter, with details spotted by AppleInsider, the decision to launch an iPhone 17 Air with a port was made to avoid any ramifications from the EU.
There were also two iPhone 17 Air prototypes being tested, with the larger one sporting a 6.9-inch display. The variant that Apple intends to mass produce has a 6.6-inch panel, and even though it will offer less screen real estate, it will be more durable than the bigger version. After all, a larger and thinner iPhone 17 Air will be prone to bending, much like the case with the 13-inch M4 iPad Pro, which took little effort to snap because of its sleek design.
The California-based giant likely wishes to avoid another ‘bendgate’ controversy that it had to endure with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus launch, so it is looking for a combination that will make the iPhone 17 Air slimmer and durable at the same time. As you would expect, the sleeker frame will introduce some compromises, with Apple said to forego the ultrawide-angle camera in favor of a bigger battery, but those trade-offs are necessary to trim the device to such levels.

“American Pie” actress Jasmine Mooney is finally back home in Canada after being detained at the US-Mexico border for 12 days while trying to get a new visa — saying that nobody “deserves to go through what I witnessed.”
Mooney, a 35-year-old actress and entrepreneur, returned to Vancouver just after midnight Saturday after she was held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the San Ysidro border between Mexico and San Diego since March. 3.
“I’m still, to be honest, really processing everything,” Mooney told CTV News as she arrived at the airport.
4 Jasmine Mooney was detained for 12 days at the US-Mexico border after trying to get a new visa. CTVNews
“I haven’t slept in a while and haven’t eaten proper food in a while, so I’m just really going through the motions,” she said, noting she would “never in a million years” have gone to the border had she thought there was “even a possibility” she could be detained.
“I do not wish it upon anyone. No one deserves to go through what I witnessed.”
Mooney, a co-founder of the health-focused tonic drink brand Holy! Water, said she went to the southern border — where she obtained her first work visa — on the advice of her lawyer, and came prepared with a new job offer and her visa paperwork in hand.
While Mooney, who appeared in a racy scene in “American Pie Presents: The Book of Love” in 2009, had a work visa revoked in November, she said she didn’t think she would have any issue applying for a new one with her recent job offer — just as she had previously done.
Mooney said she was transported three times over 12 days, hadn’t slept in 24 hours, and still had no answers as to why she was detained.
4 Mooney (right) appeared in a racy scene in “American Pie Presents: The Book of Love” in 2009. Courtesy Universal
“I still don’t even know how I’m home,” she said. “My friends and my family and the media are the reason, I think, that I’m home.”
When asked if she felt President Trump’s border policies led to her detention, Mooney said she couldn’t say as she still had received no explanation for her detention even after returning to Canada.
“I have no idea,” she said. “I don’t want to point fingers at anything. I really don’t know. But, obviously, people can speculate what they want.”
4 Mooney had previously gotten her visa in person and didn’t think she would face any issues. REUTERS
Mooney is also warning other Canadians against making the same mistake.
“Don’t go where you can’t come directly back to Canada,” she said, adding that she was told by US officials at the border that she hadn’t done anything criminal and would be sent back to Canada.
4 Mooney is warning other Canadians against making the same mistake. Instagram/jasminemooney
Mooney said her situation was better than most of the women she encountered in her various confinements.
“When I got to know everyone else in there, and heard all of their stories and how long they were in there, I was like, ‘OK, I’m not allowed to feel sorry for myself at all, because every single person in here is in a way worse situation than me,’” she said.

If you were a teen or young adult circa 2005, you likely watched some of the shows broadcast on the CW television network. One of the more popular shows on that station was

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Turns out Rory McIlroy needed only three good swings to win the Players Championship on Monday in a playoff over J.J. Spaun.
McIlroy blasted his opening tee shot and hit a pitching wedge to the par-5 16th to set up birdie, and then he found the island green at the par-3 17th with a 9-iron into a cold, crackling wind at TPC Sawgrass that effectively gave him a second title at golf’s richest event.
Spaun posed over his 8-iron until he heard the groans of the spectators lined up behind the 17th green. His ball cut through the wind and sailed clear over the green into the water, leading to a triple bogey that ended his hopes.

The Denver Nuggets are in an intense battle to be a top-4 seed in the Western Conference and to secure home-court advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs. The Nuggets sit at 43-25 on the season, tied for second with the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies. While they won’t catch the Oklahoma City Thunder at 56-12, the Los Angeles Lakers are lurking behind them at 41-25. Denver can’t afford many more slip-ups if it wants the No. 2 seed, especially after a surprising 126-123 home loss in its last game to the Washington Wizards.
The Nuggets have only gone 4-4 so far in March, despite Nikola Jokic putting up an insane stat line of 29.3 points, 13.6 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game in those eight contests. Jokic and the Nuggets now enter a tricky part of the schedule as they play four consecutive road games—with three of them against playoff teams. The first one takes place Monday, as the Nuggets head to the Bay Area to face off against the Golden State Warriors at 10 p.m. ET. The Warriors are surging after having won their past seven games, and are only 3.5 games out of the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
In this critical matchup, Denver opened as a 2.5-point road underdog to Golden State, but this spread has climbed up to Denver +4.5. The Warriors are -183 (bet $183 to win $100) on the money line according to SportsLine consensus, while the Nuggets are +152 (bet $100 to win $152).
But what if you want to bet on player props, particularly on whether an epic Jokic performance can snap Golden State’s winning streak? The SportsLine model has you covered. It continuously refreshes the most recent available data and can help you spot the biggest discrepancies in the lines. The SportsLine model, which can be found on every game forecast page on SportsLine under the

WOODLAND PARK, Colo. (KRDO) — A half-mile stretch of Highway 67 on the north side of town will be the site of a Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) project that’s scheduled for completion in the fall.
But, despite safety and traffic benefits, there’s some concern from residents about how it might worsen already-congested summer vacation travel.

The United States stands at the precipice of a new golden age of transportation: the dawn of the autonomous vehicle era. AVs are already proving their worth, making our roads safer, improving supply chains, and increasing accessibility for people with disabilities and the elderly. Yet despite these undeniable opportunities, Washington has stalled in providing a clear regulatory road map. This is creating uncertainty that threatens to unseat American leadership in this key industry for the future.
President Donald Trump, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and Congress can fix things.
The AV industry has released Securing American Leadership in Autonomous Vehicles, a set of actionable policy proposals to support autonomous innovation. Without federal action on AV policy, states have filled the void by enacting their own laws. To date, 25 states covering 56% of the U.S. population have enacted AV deployment laws, demonstrating excitement for this technology. These state laws are a welcome trend, but transportation is emphatically interstate: only the federal government can implement policies that speak to the vehicle’s design, construction, and performance. With bold action at the federal level in these areas, America will be in the driver’s seat on autonomous technology.
Federal policy on AVs will help solve one of our nation’s most vexing problems: persistent traffic fatalities. In 2023 alone, 41,000 people died in car crashes — equivalent to a sold-out crowd at nationals park in D.C. every single year. This tragedy is overwhelmingly caused by human error, such as distracted or impaired driving. Unlike human drivers, AVs don’t drive impaired or distracted. The vehicles perform all elements of the driving task and are designed to follow traffic laws, maintain safe speeds, and have 360-degree visibility of the world around them. It is no wonder Duffy recently said AVs are a “wonderful technology that has the potential of making roads safer.”
Autonomous vehicles are producing real-world data that demonstrate their remarkable safety record. AVs have driven more than 70 million miles on public roads across the U.S. — more than 293 round trips to the Moon. What was once science fiction is now a commercialized technology, with leading companies deploying robotaxis and autonomous trucks today.
While the safety benefits of AVs justify swift action, there are even more opportunities for this technology to benefit our nation. AVs will also be crucial in bolstering our supply chains and getting goods to market. The U.S. faces a puzzle: government data show we must move 50% more freight by 2050 as the economy grows. But we must do that with a massive truck driver shortage that will likely worsen. Autonomous trucks will augment human truck drivers and provide another tool to keep our shelves stocked while creating thousands of new jobs across skill and education levels.
The private sector has demonstrated its willingness to invest billions of dollars into technological progress that creates jobs. However, we need a federal partner that recognizes the need to modernize motor vehicle rules to pave the way for American leadership on autonomous vehicles.
Lastly, AVs are making it easier for many to navigate their communities like never before. By reimagining vehicle design, we can better serve those with disabilities and elderly populations. My 94-year-old grandmother lost her independence because of her inability to drive, but she has not lost her desire to see friends and loved ones. AVs can provide a reliable, inclusive transportation solution that gives her and others the freedom to navigate the world safely without the risk of discrimination.
REP LIDER: BAN ON DRIVERLESS COMMERCIAL VEHICLES ‘PRIORITY’ IN COLORADO
The U.S. pioneered autonomous technology, but China and other nations are advancing with aggressive investment and regulatory support. Without swift federal action, America risks losing its competitive edge in this industry. Secretary Duffy said, “We need clear rules that allow innovators to stay in America and develop products that are going to advance autonomous vehicles.”
We couldn’t agree more. Congress and the Department of Transportation should create a consistent, nationwide AV regulatory framework that promotes safety, spurs new investment, and secures our technological leadership for generations to come.
Jeff Farrah is CEO of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association

Newark, New Jersey AP —
A Pennsylvania man who was going through security at a New Jersey airport was found to have a live turtle concealed in his pants, according to the federal Transportation Security Administration.
The turtle was detected Friday after a body scanner alarm went off at Newark Liberty International Airport. A TSA officer then conducted a pat-down on the East Stroudsburg man and determined there was something concealed in the groin area of his pants.
When questioned further, the man reached into his pants and pulled out the turtle, which was about 5 inches (12 centimeters) long and wrapped in a small blue towel. He said it was a red-ear slider turtle, a species that is popular as a pet.
The man — whose name was not released — was escorted from the checkpoint area by Port Authority police and ended up missing his flight. The turtle was confiscated, and it’s not clear if the turtle was the man’s pet or why he had it in his pants.
“We have seen travelers try to conceal knives and other weapons on their person, in their shoes and in their luggage, however I believe this is the first time we have come across someone who was concealing a live animal down the front of his pants,” said Thomas Carter, TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey. “As best as we could tell, the turtle was not harmed by the man’s actions.”
He said the incident remains under investigation, and it wasn’t clear if the man would face any charges or penalties.

Two Republican senators are set to question a top U.S. Army official and examine the preliminary findings of the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) report into the deadly place crash in January near Reagan Washington National Airport.
Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), who leads the aviation subcommittee, and Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will hold a March 27 hearing to look into the findings of the NTSB’s 20-page preliminary report into the late January air collision between an American Airlines plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed all 67 people involved.
“The NTSB’s preliminary report lays the foundation for understanding what circumstances led to the deadly accident over the Potomac that claimed 67 lives,” Moran said in a statement.
He said he appreciates the NTSB, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Defense “and other parties collaborating on this investigation” and expects their continued cooperation as he leads a subcommittee hearing “to review the report and work to determine policy changes that may be necessary to prevent future tragedies.”
The lawmakers invited three witnesses for the late March subcommittee hearing: FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy and Army Aviation Director Brig. Gen. Matthew Braman.
An Army spokesperson told The Hill that Braman is “aware and will likely participate.”
When reached for comment, the FAA directed The Hill to the subcommittee.
The hearing, which was announced Monday, came hours after the NTSB’s report was unveiled.
The safety board detailed two “urgent” safety recommendations after finding thousands of near misses between planes and helicopters flying around National Airport.
The NTSB recommended the FAA ban certain helicopter routes around the airport permanently. Homendy said the distance between where the planes land and helicopters operate at some runaways at National Airport are “insufficient” and “an intolerable risk to aviation safety.”
The FAA will implement certain restrictions on helicopter routes near the airport and the information will be relayed to pilots on Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters Tuesday.
“At best, we’re in a situation where we’re threading the needle allowing helicopters to fly down the same airspace as landing aircraft,” Duffy said. “And why this information wasn’t studied and known before Jan. 29 is an important question.”
Cruz said the Jan. 29 midair collision is a “tragedy that has left the families of 67 souls grieving, and the investigation into the causes of this accident will continue until we know precisely what went wrong on the evening of Jan. 29.”
“With complete jurisdiction over the national airspace, the Commerce Committee has an obligation to support those families and to do everything in Congress’s power to keep the flying public safe,” the Texas senator said.

Equity Transportation Co. Inc., a Walker, Michigan-based trucking company, has ceased operations, marking another casualty of the freight market. Multiple sources close to the company confirmed with FreightWaves that the company has shut down, letting go of all of its drivers and halting operations of its vehicles.
According to reports on Facebook, drivers are still waiting to hear about their final wages, while some have dealt with recent bounced checks.
Equity Transportation has yet to make a statement regarding its closure. FreightWaves could not confirm issues with wages with drivers directly. FreightWaves attempted to reach the company directly through various channels, but much of its phone directory has been deactivated, including dispatching and the accounting and safety departments.
Equity Transportation has been registered with the Department of Transportation since 1974. The FMCSA’s Safer website reports 100 drivers and 109 power units at the company.

For travelers coming from northeastern Colorado, the Bustang Outrider Sterling route has stops in Sterling, Brush and Fort Morgan, and will drop you off at the airport for rom $12 to $20. The Bustang DIA route runs Monday through Friday, arrives at the airport at 9:35 a.m. and departs for Sterling at 3 p.m.
DIA Security Checkpoints
The west security checkpoint is the primary TSA PreCheck line, but it closes at 7:30 p.m, while the south security checkpoint closes for pre-check at 8:45 p.m. After 10 p.m., travelers with TSA PreCheck have to wait in the standard screening line, but will get a form for expedited screening once they reach the security check.
Wait times for standard and pre-check TSA security lines are shared online, but the airport recommends three options for getting through security faster: TSA PreCheck, Clear and making a reservation.
The airport used to have a security checkpoint on a bridge into the A gate area, but that checkpoint no longer operates. Passengers will have to go through security checkpoints on the west or south ends of the main terminal.TSA PreCheck at the west security checkpoint allows people to leave liquids and laptops in their bag. People can apply for TSA Precheck online ; enrollment requires an interview and a $78 fee for a five-year membership.Clear (which you’ve probably been offered to try for free as you approach security) gets people to the front of TSA lines by having them check in with biometric data at kiosks. It costs $200 a year. But while Clear gets travelers to the front of the line, it won’t get you through the security checks faster. It can be paired with TSA PreCheck, however.Travelers can also make appointments with Denver TSA security up to fourteen days before their trip to get through security faster.

From busy airports to savings, here’s what to know about spring break travel
With spring break in full swing, airlines and airports say they expect to be busier this season, which covers most of March and April, compared to prior years.
The TSA expects a 5% jump in flyers over last year. At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the country’s second busiest airport, that means 4.8 million flyers over the next several weeks.
While U.S. Airlines warn of slowing demand following recent plane crashes, a drop in government travel and economic uncertainty, United Airlines says 2025’s spring break will break records. The airline is expecting to fly more than 24 million passengers by the end of April, with this week its busiest.
The Porter family told CBS News they’re traveling from Phoenix to Florida for spring break. Normally, they do a road trip to California, but this year Jenna Porter and her three kids are flying to Panama City.

A Transportation Security Administration officer found a live turtle concealed in the crotch of a would-be traveler’s pants at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport. Photo courtesy of the TSA
Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe March 13 (UPI) — The Transportation Security Administration said an officer at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey found a live turtle concealed in the crotch of a traveler’s pants. The TSA said the East Stroudsburg, Pa., man was going through the security checkpoint’s body scanner when it detected something concealed in his groin area. Advertisement
An officer confronted the man, who

Pete Buttigieg speaks during a Senate Appropriations Committee in November of 2024. He announced Thursday that he will not be running for office in Michigan in 2026. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
March 13 (UPI) — Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Thursday that he won’t be running for office in Michigan next year. Buttigieg posted to X that although he cares

Inside the MBTA’s Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility in Somerville on Thursday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey pushed ahead with her plan to pump more than $1 billion into the transit agency.
The money, which still needs the green light from state lawmakers, would be used for new Commuter Rail coaches, Red and Orange Line cars, station accessibility, track improvements and power system resiliency.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are.

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!
For regular readers of TechCrunch Mobility, you may be wondering, “Why did this newsletter land in my inbox on Friday?” Folks, we’re moving days in an effort to bring you a more complete rundown of the news of the week.
I spent the last week at SXSW, the annual tech, film, comedy, and music festival in Austin. I recommend scrolling through our live blog to catch up on all the transportation, AI, social media, creator economy — basically tech — news that happened during the conference.
I’ve watched Austin evolve over the years with some good and bad outcomes. Protected bike lanes have been one positive development, which I appreciated as I rode a few Lime scooters and two Mod Bikes e-bikes around the city. Austin is also becoming a hub for autonomous vehicle activity with Avride headquartered there, Zoox testing on public roads, and Waymo launching a commercial robotaxi service.
I was lucky enough to be matched with two Waymo robotaxis — all ride-hails occur through the Uber app, so it’s never a guarantee. I also had one coordinated match courtesy of Waymo. As I wrote earlier this week, it is absolutely wild that Waymo and Uber are working together. Here’s why.
Oh, and here is what I discovered in my Waymo-Uber robotaxi ride. Hint: some updates to the user interface.
A little bird
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com, or Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com. Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop.
Deals!
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
Senior reporter Sean O’Kane took a deep dive into a new venture firm called Leitmotif that’s been quietly making loads of deals for the past 16 months. The firm, which has funded around 20 startups, broadly focuses on decarbonization with a portfolio that includes EV companies, space and battery plays, and four nuclear fusion startups.
That’s not the interesting part. Here’s what is: All of the money in its fund came from the Volkswagen Group. Check out the full story about why the German automotive giant has committed $300 million to Leitmotif’s first fund.
Other deals that got my attention …
Carpool Logistics, a vehicle logistics platform, raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Wavecrest Growth Partners, with participation from CarMax, Impel founders Devin Daly and Michael Quigley, and automotive industry veteran David Metter.
Daqus Energy, a startup working on battery materials, raised $6 million in a seed round led by Morningside with participation from unnamed individual investors.
Nirvana, an AI-based insurance platform that uses real-time driving telematics and 20 billion miles of truck driving data to build and manage insurance policies for truckers, raised $80 million in a Series C round of funding led by General Catalyst. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Valor Equity Partners also participated. The investment values Nirvana at $830 million post-money.
Northvolt filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, the latest blow to Europe’s attempts to create a battery-manufacturing juggernaut that could rival the Chinese giants.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Image Credits:Bryce Durbin
ADAS
Rivian rolled out a hands-free version of its driver-assistance system for highway driving, which founder and CEO RJ Scaringe discussed onstage at SXSW in Austin. The new hands-free feature puts Rivian in competition with Ford and GM, which have similar hands-free systems that control steering, acceleration, and braking under certain conditions and locations.
Autonomous vehicles
Hugging Face teamed up with AI startup Yaak to expand LeRobot — a collection of open AI models, datasets, and tools to help build real-world robotics systems — with a training set to allow robots and cars to navigate environments like city streets autonomously.
Trucks VC general partner Reilly Brennan had an interesting column, Don’t mistake ridehailing for AV ridehailing.
Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of Uber, thinks the company’s decision to abandon its autonomous driving program was a mistake. Reminder: Uber ATG was burning through cash when it was sold to Aurora in 2020.
Waymo keeps expanding — this time in Silicon Valley. And that expansion has come with hundreds of parking tickets.
Electric vehicles, charging, & batteries
The Mint 400 off-road race put two EVs — a Rivian R1T truck and a Chevrolet Silverado EV ZR2 off-road race truck concept — to the test.
Rad Power lost its CEO and gained a new one in a span of a few days.
President Donald Trump said he will label violence against Tesla dealerships as domestic terrorism — yet another sign of his deep support for Elon Musk. As reporter Sean O’Kane notes, “Tesla Takeovers” have been breaking out across the globe at Tesla dealerships as people protest what they see as a hostile takeover of the federal government by Musk (who is CEO of Tesla and its largest shareholder) and his Department of Government Efficiency. Some of the protests have resulted in graffiti on Tesla signs, charging stations set on fire, even Molotov cocktails being thrown in one dealership’s lot.
This week’s wheels
Image Credits:Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch
This week I tried two e-bikes from Austin-based Mod Bikes. I’ll focus on its newest one, the Groove, which launched earlier this week.
I spent 24 hours with the Groove, an all-electric step-through bike with a souped-up beach cruiser look and feel. The Groove existed before, but Mod Bikes discontinued it. Now it’s back and has been updated throughout, including the frame, battery, torque sensor, smart display, and motor.
The bike itself is sporty and polished with lots of thoughtful details that make the $1,999 price seem like a steal. The design is thoughtful with easy-to-read and easy-to-operate controls and an integrated bike lock that folds neatly on the frame.
The Groove is a throttle and pedal assist bike, and I found it easy to switch between the various modes. I rarely relied on the throttle alone because the assist provided plenty of oomph. The bike has a payload capacity of 275 pounds and reaches a top speed of 28 miles per hour. The Groove has 50 miles of range; however, there is a dual-battery option that pops it up to 100 miles.
One note, though: Wow, this bike is hefty. And while that is generally a good thing, folks should give themselves a bit of time to adjust to its weight.
I also tested Mod Connect, which allows users to wirelessly pair a Lumos ultra-smart helmet to sync and control turn signals directly from the bike. The connected bike helmet made me feel far more visible to drivers as I navigated the busy streets of downtown Austin.
What is “This week’s wheels”? It’s a chance to learn about the different transportation products we’re testing, whether it’s an electric or hybrid car, an e-bike, or even a ride in an autonomous vehicle.

Wendy Williams, 60, has told the world her story. The former host of The Wendy Williams Show appeared in a two-part documentary film about her life on February 24, 2024. Wendy was featured in the shocking trailer in which she disclosed many painful truths about her health and career. “I have no money,” the 59-year-old said in the trailer. “And I’m gonna tell you something. If it happens to me, it could happen to you.”
The trailer for Lifetime’s Where is Wendy Williams? was released in 2024 ahead of the doc’s premiere and painted the TV personality in a different light. Wendy’s family, including her son Kevin Hunter Jr., are featured in the film and often express concern over her. “My mom has done a great job making it seem like everything is okay always, but in reality, there’s something wrong going on,” Wendy’s only child said in the film.
Wendy was taken to an assisted living facility in March 2025 after authorities responded to a welfare check. She then aced her mental capacity test, according to TMZ. Ahead of the premiere, below is everything to know about Wendy’s life today.
Wendy Williams’ Time on ‘The Wendy Williams Show’
After many delays to resume with Wendy in the fall of 2021, The Wendy Williams Show eventually had others fill in for her. By mid 2022, the longstanding talk show was officially cancelled. Sherri Shepherd‘s new show, Sherri, then took Wendy’s timeslot and the loss of her show reportedly “broke” her, per PEOPLE. The talk show premiered in 2008 and quickly became a fan-favorite for celebrity gossip lovers.
Wendy later opened up about making a possible comeback to TV during a March 2022 interview with Good Morning America. “I’m 57 years old now but I have the mind and body of a 25 year old,” she quipped during the interview. “Give me about three months. There are private things that I have to deal with and then I’ll be ready to come back and be free and ready to do my thing. Keep watching because I’m going to be back on The Wendy Show, bigger and brighter than ever.”
Wendy Williams’ Health Struggles
There were continuous delays in Wendy’s return to her talk show due to her ongoing health issues. Years prior, in 2018, Wendy revealed that she had been diagnosed with Graves’ disease. In February of that year, she spoke to her live audience and opened up about her ongoing health struggles, per CBS News. “My thyroid has been totally cattywampus and that is the eye thing that you all have been seeing. You caught it before I did,” the Love Triangle alum said.
Wendy addressed the public’s speculation regarding the appearance of her eyes and noted it was due to her diagnosis. “My thyroid, my hyperthyroid is attached also to Graves’ disease,” she added. “Graves’ disease squeezes the muscles behind your eyeballs and so that’s the reason for — ” she then widened her eyes to get her point across. At the time, she was encouraged by her medical team to take three weeks off from work.
By 2022, Wendy’s health continued to decline. The former radio host’s publicist sent Hollywood Life a press release in September 2022 and revealed that Wendy had begun treatment at a wellness facility. “Wendy has entered a wellness facility seeking help to manage her overall health issues. She is taking some time to focus on her health and wellness as she prepares for a major comeback for the next level in her career with ‘The Wendy Experience Podcast,” the statement read. “Ms. Williams is being treated by a team of some of the best doctors in the world. We ask for your prayers and well wishes during this time.” Wendy then exited the rehab facility by October 2022.
On January 16, 2025, during an interview on The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God, she shared, “I am not cognitively impaired but I feel like I am in prison,” referring to being in a conservatorship. “I’m in this place with people who are in their 90s and their 80s and their 70s. …. These people, there’s something wrong with these people here on this floor. I am clearly not.”
What Wendy Williams’ Family Has Said
Ahead of the doc’s premiere, Wendy’s family has come forward with growing concerns for her health. Not only has she been battling Graves’ disease, but Wendy has also suffered from alcohol addiction, per PEOPLE. In June 2023, Kevin opened up about his mother’s drinking habits. “There are a lot of people who are very aware that there is an issue with her drinking and how that issue may be helped, but I think these people are taking advantage of it while allowing it to play out to make it look like they aren’t causing the issue,” he told The Sun at the time.
Later, Wendy’s manager Will Selby disputed Kevin’s claims. “Taking advantage of her for what? To get what? To do what? I’m not here to brag, but I was doing just okay before Wendy came along and I insisted on helping her because she requested my assistance,” he said during a conversation with Entertainment Tonight.
“Wendy is under a guardianship. Everything that she does gets approved by the guardianship. A court-appointed guardianship,” Will continued. “So, no one, even if they wanted to take advantage of her — everything has to get approved by that court. So, any type of business dealings that we do, Wendy, myself, and anyone — we have to get the guardianship to sign off on it. So how can anyone take advantage of her?”
Wendy is still seeking care at the wellness facility, per PEOPLE, and the only one who has constant access to her is her appointed legal guardian. “The people who love her cannot see her,” Wendy’s sister Wanda, 65, said during the doc’s trailer. “I think the big is: How the hell did we get here?” Fans can catch the two-part documentary about Wendy on Lifetime beginning on February 24, 2024.

A whopping 9,000 people have bought the Apple Watch SE in the past month alone, which makes sense once you see that a huge 32% discount slashes the starting price to just $169. Sony wireless headphones are also on sale today starting at $38, and a best-selling full-size air mattress is only $61 and change.
You’ll find all that and more in our roundup for Wednesday, March 12.
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Following the conclusion of World War II, a line was drawn across Korea, creating a separate North and South region. While the Soviet Union and U.S. had previously allied to defeat the Axis powers, the two nations were on opposite sides of an ideological philosophy, which would come to a head in the summer of 1950. While the Soviet’s championed communism and backed the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north, the U.S. was founded on the principles of democracy, freedom, and a capitalist-based economy, standing firmly behind the Republic of Korea in the south.
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Once the North Korean People’s Army stepped over the agreed upon 38th parallel line into South Korea, the first conflicts of the Cold War began. Often remembered as a proxy war, while North and South Korea were fighting each other, so too were American forces against the Soviets.
In terms of combat aircraft, the Korean War was an interesting period, as it was the first time jet fighters were predominately flown, albeit, not without some issues. The Korean War showcased some of the most intense dogfights in aerial combat history, involving the F-86 Sabre and MiG-15. But there were also some hold-over aircraft from World War II that participated in the conflict, quickly finding themselves outmatched by cutting-edge adversaries. Unfortunately, there were also a few examples from the Korean War period that made our list of the worst military bombers ever made.
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Foul-mouthed anti-Israel protesters disrupted an event at Cornell University, where former Palestinian and Israeli officials came together to discuss peace in the region.
The “Pathways to Peace” discussion — which featured Israel’s former foreign minister and vice prime minister, Tzipi Livni — descended into chaos when unruly activists broke out in antisemitic chants and hurled abuse at the politician.
“F–k you, war criminals,” a keffiyeh-clad female student yelled, according to video of the commotion shared by Cornell student Sam Friedman.
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” other demonstrators shouted, using the slogan deemed antisemitic by the Anti-Defamation League.
4 Vulgar anti-Israel protesters disrupted a “Pathways to Peace” panel at Cornell University. X/_samfriedman_
Friedman, a 21-year-old junior at the Ivy League institution’s College of Engineering, said he attended because he was “excited” to hear both perspectives.
“I was very excited for the event, I’m a Jewish student, and I’m interested in what’s happening in the Middle East,” he told The Post.
“I thought this was a really good way to hear not just Israeli perspectives, but also Palestinian perspectives.”But from the start, it was “marred with protesters,” Friedman said.
“The irony is that you had Livni, who is a left-wing, pro-Palestinian Israeli, an advocate for the Palestinian state, and the former head of the Palestinian authority, and meanwhile these students not only won’t listen to them but they’re shouting them down,” the junior said.
At least 17 protesters were arrested at the Monday panel discussion, where Livni expressed the importance of respecting both sides.
“I’m not here to open the kind of blame game, who is to blame, because I do believe, even now, after Oct. 7, that the only way forward, if we want to live in peace, is to acknowledge both sides, the legitimate aspiration of both sides, to a state of their own, Israel and the Palestinians,” she said.
Other panelists included former US Ambassador to Israel Daniel B. Shapiro and the former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, Salam Fayyad.
It was moderated by Ryan Crocker, former US ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan and Syria.
4 The event was taking place at Bailey Hall at Cornell’s Ithaca campus. Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The activists claimed the event presented a biased view of the conflict, despite both Israelis and Palestinians being part of the discussion.
Before the event even began, a banner was displayed outside where the event was taking place, calling for a walkout in protest of Livni’s inclusion.
Livni — who oversaw the First Gaza War in 2008-09, dubbed “Operation Cast Lead” — has been the subject of an arrest warrant in the UK for alleged war crimes.
4 Many of the demonstrators wore black-and-white keffiyehs. X/_samfriedman_ 4 The demonstrators were protesting the appearance of Israel’s former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. X/_samfriedman_
Monday’s event was free to attend but tickets had to be booked online beforehand.
“The protesters tried to book up a lot of tickets to prevent a lot of people who wanted to go to the event from attending,” Friedman said. “Those people were stuck waiting outside. The protesters definitely employed tactics to take away spots from people who actually wanted to listen.”
The wide-ranging discussion started with a message to the audience that different opinions would be allowed from the Ivy League’s interim president Michael Kotlikoff, who was hosting the event.
“This is a region with a long and complex history, which has too often, in recent years, been reduced to binaries,” Kotlikoff said in a statement ahead of the event, as reported by the Cornell Chronicle.
“Through hearing firsthand from experts with direct, on-the-ground experience of the peace process, its collapse and the events of the past decades, we hope to challenge those misconceptions, and deepen our community’s understanding of the region’s current challenges and realities.”
The demonstration was led by the group Students for Justice in Palestine, who are now facing suspension, according to senior management at Cornell.
“The hundreds of members of the Cornell community who came to Bailey Hall to listen, learn, and respectfully debate experienced an evening of information, introspection, and critical self-examination,” Interim President Kotlikoff said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, the event was marred by disappointing disruptions. The ability of speakers to present opinions and ideas, and to engage in thoughtful dialogue with the university community, is critical to the educational process and fundamental to university life. Individuals attempting to shout down speakers and disrupt dialogue seriously compromise our values. Those who disrupted the Pathways to Peace event were swiftly removed.
“Cornell University Police identified 17 people responsible for this unacceptable disruption. Nine students will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards for appropriate action, including the imposition of interim measures up to and including suspension. Staff members involved in the disruption will be referred for disciplinary actions through Human Resources. Outside disrupters will be issued persona non grata status, barring them from Cornell’s campus.
“Additionally, for advertising and organizing this disruption, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a student-run organization, faces suspension as a registered campus organization.”

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) – The WIAA Girls Basketball Championship Tournament tipped off in Green Bay on Thursday.
Elk Mound squared off with Appleton Xavier. After a strong 1st half, the Mounders could not match the Hawks in the final 18 minutes as they fell in the Division 3 semifinals.
It was a similar story for Durand-Arkansaw who fell to St. Mary Catholic in the Division 4 semifinals as the Zephyrs pulled away in the 2nd half.
Thursday also featured the boys basketball sectional semifinals. In Division 1, Eau Claire Memorial fell to Marshfield.
In D2, New Richmond’s string of upsets came to an end at the hands of Wausau East who topped the Tigers in overtime.
In Division 4, Cumberland survived a late push from Heart O’ North rivals Ladysmith. Other sectionals semifinal action included West Salem knocking off top-seeded Onalaska in overtime in Division 2 and Aquinas taking down conference rival Luther in Division 4.
Copyright 2025 WEAU. All rights reserved.

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is reporting delays on I-25 southbound due to a crash.
The crash is specifically located between Exit 135: South Academy Boulevard and CO 16/Mesa Ridge Parkway (Fountain) at Mile Point 132.5.
Colorado State Patrol (CSP) says it was a two vehicle crash with teo people taken to the hospital.
Video of the accident shows Colorado State Patrol and Fountain Fire Department on scene. There is a truck located off the highway with heavy damage to its front end.

Community Corner Local Historians’ Book Rides The Old Rockville-To-Stafford Trolleys A new book takes a look back at an old transportation system in north Central Connecticut.
Two local historians have teamed up to take a new ride on an old-time transportation system. (Vernon Historical Society )
VERNON, CT — Two local historians have teamed up to take a new ride on an old-time transportation system.
The journey is in the form of a new book,

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal investigators looking into the cause of the January collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people recommended a ban on some helicopter flights Tuesday, saying the current setup “poses an intolerable risk.”
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy laid out frightening statistics to underscore the danger that has existed for years near Ronald Reagan National Airport and expressed anger that it took a midair collision for it to come to light.
In just over three years, she said, there were 85 close calls when a few feet in the wrong direction could have resulted in the same kind of accident that happened on Jan. 29 when the military helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet over the Potomac River as the plane was approaching the airport.
The federal safety board determined that the existing separation distance between planes and helicopters at the airport is “insufficient and poses an intolerable risk to aviation safety,” Homendy said.
She said she was devastated for families that are grieving because they lost loved ones. Among the victims were 28 members of the figure skating community.
“It shouldn’t take tragedy to require immediate action,” she said.
Proposed changes aimed at improving safety
Under the current practice helicopters and planes can be as close as 75 feet apart from each other during landing, Homendy said. Investigators have identified 15,214 instances of planes getting alerts about helicopters being in close proximity between October 2021 and December 2024, she said.
Investigators determined that planes got alerts to take evasive action because they were too close to a helicopter at least once a month between October 2011 and December 2024, Homendy said.
Following the midair collision, the FAA took steps to restrict helicopter flights around Reagan National Airport to ensure that planes and helicopters are no longer sharing the same airspace. Now flights are put on hold temporarily when helicopters need to pass by the airport.
The NTSB’s proposal would close a vital route for law enforcement, Coast Guard patrols and government operations flights.
Homendy said the NTSB is recommending that the FAA find a “permanent solution” for alternate routes farther away from the airport for helicopter traffic.
Searching for a cause of the crash
Investigators have said the helicopter may have had inaccurate altitude readings in the moments before the crash, and the crew may not have heard key instructions from air traffic controllers. The collision likely occurred at an altitude just under 300 feet (91 meters), as the plane descended toward the helicopter, which was well above its 200-foot (61-meter) limit for that location.
The helicopter pilots may have also missed part of another communication, when the tower said the jet was turning toward a different runway, Homendy said last month.
The helicopter was on a “check” flight that night where the pilot was undergoing an annual test and a test on using night vision goggles, Homendy said. Investigators believe the crew was wearing night vision goggles throughout the flight.
The Army has said the Black Hawk crew was highly experienced, and accustomed to the crowded skies around the nation’s capital.
The NTSB in its ongoing investigation will look at the amount of traffic at Reagan and the staffing in the control tower to determine if either of those factors played a role in the collision. It will take more than a year to get the final NTSB report on the cause.
While Homendy laid out those scary statistics about near misses, she also said it’s still incredibly safe to fly, adding that she most often flies out of Reagan.
Aviation safety expert John Cox said he flew in and out of Reagan as a pilot in all different kinds of planes since the late 1970s and sometimes received collision alerts about nearby helicopters, but it was usually easy to see that the helicopter was going to pass behind the plane.
“That’s just something that occurred going in and out of there, and it worked successfully for decades,” said Cox, who is CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Cox said multiple things had to go wrong for this collision to happen.
A spate of recent aviation disasters
Within just a month’s time earlier this year, there were four major aviation disasters in North America, including the midair collision over the Potomac and most recently in mid-February when a Delta flight flipped and landed on its roof at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, injuring 21 people.
Those accidents and close calls left some worried about the safety of flying even though fatal crashes are rare and the track record of U.S. airlines is remarkably sound.
President Donald Trump blamed the midair collision over Washington, D.C., on what he called an “obsolete” air traffic control system and promised to replace it. He also faulted the helicopter for flying too high.
Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports. Among the reasons they have cited for staffing shortages are uncompetitive pay, long shifts, intensive training and mandatory retirements.
___
Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio; Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Family-owned Iowa carrier looking into possible sale, official says
Gray Transportation, a Waterloo, Iowa-based carrier, is negotiating for a possible sale amid rumors the company is shutting down.
“We’re working with our customers and the buyer. We’re probably looking at a Friday deadline,” Darrin Gray, company president, told FreightWaves in an interview when asked about the possible closing of the company.
Family-owned Gray Transportation was founded in 1984 with one truck and a handful of employees. Today, the company has a fleet of over 160 trucks, 500 trailers and 100 drivers, offering over-the-road dry van solutions.
Gray Transportation services the Midwest. The company also operates a brokerage called Hawkeye Logistics.

A Delta Air Lines plane is towed into position to prepare for takeoff at Reagan National Airport after an American Airlines plane crashed on approach to the airport, in Arlington, Virginia, on Jan. 30, 2025.
The existing separation between helicopters operating near the airport and arriving aircraft on one of the runways, 33, poses

The National Transportation Safety Board uncovered more than 15,000 “near-miss events” between helicopters and jets at Reagan National airport in just three years leading up to the American Airlines jet and Army helicopter collision that killed 67 people.
Helicopter routes near Reagan National airport regularly cause an “intolerable risk to aviation safety,” NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy told reporters Tuesday during an update on its investigation into the January 29 collision.
5 NTSBgov
In addition to the more than 15,000 “near miss” instances in which helicopters and jets at the airport came within one nautical mile and 400 vertical feet of one another between October 2021 and December 2024, there were another 85 closer calls when helicopters and planes came within 200 vertical feet of one another.
“We remain concerned about the significant potential for future midair collisions at DCA,” Homendy said.
In response to the alarming findings, the NTSB said it was recommending that the chopper route where the catastrophic collision occurred be closed down, and an alternate route be established.
5 The airplane crashed into the Potomac River following the collision. Earth cam
“We are recommending a permanent solution today,” Homendy said, later adding that their findings had left her “angry” that nothing had been done to mitigate this risk sooner.
The NTSB did not provide answers to lingering questions about the heights the Black Hawk chopper was flying along that route when the collision occurred – explaining that investigators were still analyzing flight data and wouldn’t reveal anything but the facts.
Flight data uncovered early in the crash investigation showed a conflicting account of where each aircraft was flying when the accident occurred.
5 The American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk on Wednesday night. New York Post
The jet’s flight recorded the American Airlines plane flying at around 313 feet when impact occurred, while the Reagan tower read the chopper as flying at 278 feet.
Follow the NYP’s coverage of the deadly DC plane collision
The ceiling for helicopters flying over the Potomac River is 200 feet – meaning preliminary information indicated they were well above the safety limit in the crowded skyway near Reagan.
NTSB officials also said it’s possible the Black Hawk crew had “bad data,” and that their instruments were not showing them their true altitude.
5 Air traffic control audio revealed the American Airlines flight was cleared to land at Reagan National Airport ahead of the collision. EarthCam
And just seconds before the wreck, the chopper crew may have missed a critical control tower communication directing them to “pass behind” the jet because they keyed their radio to respond at the exact moment that phrase was spoken.
The fiery wreck was the deadliest aviation disaster on US soil since November 12, 2001, when another American Airlines plane dropped from the sky into a Queens neighborhood shortly after departing JFK International airport in NYC and killed all 260 people onboard and five people on the ground.
That accident was likely caused by pilot error, the NTSB determined.
January’s wreck was carrying numerous kids who had just finished competing in the 2025 US Figure Skating Championship in Wichita, Kansas, along with their parents and coaches who had come along to support them.
At least 14 of them were members of the US Figure Skating team, and the wreck gutted the tight-knit East Coast skating community.

Sony has used AI to imbue a PlayStation character with the ability to converse with a player, The Verge reports. A source shared a since-deleted video with the publication featuring an AI-powered version of Aloy from Horizon Forbidden West. Engadget viewed the video before it was pulled.
In the demo, Aloy can hold a conversation with voice prompts during gameplay, and respond to questions with a synthesized voice and facial movements. It starts with a delay from Aloy, after being asked how they are, followed by the character stating they are

We found some seriously impressive deals for you to check out on Tuesday, like the first-ever discount on Apple’s new iPad 11th-Gen. In fact, the iPad 11 is so new that it’s not even out yet. There’s also a big sale on aosu security cameras, with prices starting at… free! That’s right, you can get a free aosu IndoorCam P1 when you sign up for 12 months of aosuProtect+ at just $6.99 per month.
You’ll find all that and more in this big roundup for Tuesday, March 11.
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Featured sale: aosu security cameras
Image source: aosu
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