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Do free RTD rides make a difference?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:07 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Free rides boost public transit numbers, but they're still far below where they were before the COVID pandemic. All rides on RTD bus and rail lines will be free this July and August, a two-month stretch of the same program the transit line experimented with last summer. RTD rides will be free for 2 months this summer RTD offered free ridership on all its bus and rail lines in August 2022, hoping to cut ground pollution by raising ridership numbers with a little help from state funding. The Colorado senate passed a bill that gave RTD enough money to cover as much as 80% of whatever it lost in revenue from free fares - about $10.3 million in total. As with most of the country's public transit, RTD ridership crashed during the COVID pandemic. The ridership in August 2020 was around a third of the ridership as in in August 2019. RTD fares have nudged ridership numbers up but not to where they were, according to a report. Denver ranked one of worst-run cities in th...

Obi Toppin is worth monitoring during trade season; is a reunion with Kristaps Porzingis in play?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:07 GMT

The clock is starting in earnest on Obi Toppin.The power forward has wowed fans with his electric dunks, but remains on the end of any rotation featuring Julius Randle, leaving Toppin as one of the main Knicks to monitor as trade season approaches.Toppin, the eighth overall pick in 2020, is eligible for a contract extension before the season. If the sides don’t reach an agreement by the October deadline, Toppin becomes a restricted free agent next summer.Then the Knicks risk losing him for nothing, or a lot less than what could be retrieved in a trade before that point.It wouldn’t make sense for either side to sign a new contract as long as Toppin is Randle’s backup. With Randle’s workload consistently high, Toppin’s averages in minutes (15.7), points (7.4), rebounds (2.8), assists (1.0) and field-goal percentage (44.6%) all fell last season. On offense, the 25-year-old became more of a spot-up 3-point shooter with the reserves. A source said Toppin was...

Live updates | Adventurers drop OceanGate fraud lawsuit after Titan tragedy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:07 GMT

By The Associated PressFollow along for live updates on the submersible that imploded deep in the Atlantic Ocean, killing all five people aboard during a voyage down to the Titanic shipwreck.___ADVENTURERS DROP OCEANGATE FRAUD LAWSUIT AFTER TITAN TRAGEDYA pair of adventurers who sued OceanGate for fraud said they have dropped their lawsuit against the company that owned the Titan submersible.Sharon and Marc Hagle sued OceanGate after they put money down for a trip to the Titanic wreckage site and the voyage never happened. The couple said the trip was both rescheduled and canceled, and they were told they would not receive a refund.The Hagles are adventurers who became the first married couple on a commercial space flight last year, according to Purdue University, Marc’s alma mater.The couple said in a statement to The Associated Press on Friday that they have decided to drop their legal action in the wake of CEO Stockton Rush’s death, along with four passengers, and the...

Nets first-round pick Noah Clowney says he’s got more offensive game than was on display at Alabama

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:07 GMT

Former Alabama forward and Nets first-round draft pick Noah Clowney said the full extent of his offensive game wasn’t on display in his lone season with the Crimson Tide.Because Brandon Miller was the team’s No. 1 scoring option.Speaking to reporters just 12 hours after the Nets officially selected him with 21st overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, the trigger-happy stretch-four from South Carolina suggested the public has only been exposed to trace amounts of his offensive game.He is excited to show the aspects of his repertoire that were diminished on a team built around Miller as the lone star.“I think I got a lot more to my game than what people have seen, but obviously, I was playing with Brandon, and we didn’t need another star on that team,” the 18-year-old, 6-10 Clowney said at the HSS Training Facility in Industry City Friday afternoon. “So I played my role to help us win. That’s really all there was to it. But I think itR...

Swissport USA cabin cleaners, ramp workers at Logan strike to protest ‘intimidation,’ ‘retaliation’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:07 GMT

Cabin cleaners and ramp workers at Logan International Airport rallied Friday to protest what they said were unfair labor practices of intimidation and retaliation by their parent company, Swissport USA.The strike comes as an SEIU 32BJ official says Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office is investigating the Switzerland-based outfit. The attorney general’s office received more than 20 complaints against Swissport over the last five years including for allegations of non-payment of wages, according to public data.A spokesperson for Campbell said the office cannot confirm or deny any ongoing investigations.A group of roughly 20 Swissport workers gathered in front of the state transportation building in downtown Boston where they accused Swissport USA managers of reducing work hours and handing out warnings for participating in union-related business at their workplace.Some workers said they were “mocked” by management for trying to unionize with the Service Employees International ...

Celtics have more options, balance with addition of Kristaps Porzingis: ‘He brings a lot to our team’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:07 GMT

As the Celtics processed how their season ended in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Brad Stevens and the front office pinpointed a desire for more roster balance.They had a surplus of guards and not quite enough in their frontcourt, with Al Horford aging and Robert Williams struggling to stay on the floor. They targeted Kristaps Porzingis – the 7-foot-3 big man with elite skill and shooting ability – to be a solution and did everything in their power to acquire him, ultimately parting with Marcus Smart to do so.Porzingis, the No. 4 overall pick in 2015, has shown great promise over his first eight seasons while having trouble staying healthy. But he’s coming off arguably his best season after averaging a career-high 23.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, and the Celtics view him as a great fit in their system as a floor-spacing big who adds another dynamic scoring option and compliments what they want to do defensively, too.“Kristaps can play with any combination of our play...

Pence calls for his 2024 rivals to back a 15-week federal abortion ban on eve of Dobbs anniversary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:07 GMT

By WILL WEISSERT and MICHELLE L. PRICE (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence used a Friday gathering of some of the nation’s leading Christian conservatives to urge his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination to support a 15-week federal abortion ban at minimum.The exhortation at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual conference, coming a day before the first anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, amounted to a challenge for the GOP front-runner, Donald Trump, who has been reluctant to endorse a federal abortion ban. The former president is set to address the evangelical assembly on Saturday night.“We must not rest and we must not relent until we restore the sanctity of life to the center of American law in every state in this country,” Pence said. “Every Republican candidate for president should support a ban on abortion before 15 weeks as a minimum nationwide standard....

What caused the Titan to implode? Right now, it’s not even clear who will lead the investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:07 GMT

By PATRICK WHITTLE and JENNIFER McDERMOTT (Associated Press)A day after revelations that the Titan submersible imploded, officials searched the ocean floor for evidence and grappled Friday with vexing questions about who is responsible for investigating the international disaster.A formal inquiry has not yet been launched because maritime agencies are still busy searching the area where the vessel fell apart, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday. Debris was located about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater, several hundred feet away from the Titanic wreckage it was on its way to explore. The U.S. Coast Guard led the initial search and rescue mission.“I know there are also a lot of questions about how, why and when did this happen. Those are questions we will collect as much information as we can about now,” Rear Adm. John Mauger of the First Coast Guard District said Thursday. It was not entirely clear Friday who would have the authority to lead what is sure to be a comple...

Man accused of assaulting Americans near King Ludwig’s castle in Germany detailed moments before attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:07 GMT

A woman who lives in Thailand connected months ago with a Michigan man while playing an online video game.They quickly struck up a friendship and chatted every day.Those conversations came to an end on the afternoon of June 14 — the day Troy Bohling, 30, of Lincoln Park, Michigan is accused of sexually assaulting and killing one woman and injuring another in Germany.Chanidtha Khumpuok said she is shocked to learn the man she knew online is now accused of choking and pushing two women down a steep ravine near a castle known for its fairytale appearance.Embed from Getty ImagesIt was less than an hour beforehand that Bohling sent her several selfies in an online chat — photos resembling the very area he was arrested, wearing the same clothing he had on when police took him into custody.In a chat log shared with The News-Herald, Khumpuok and Bohling began talking that day like any other day. Both said good morning to one another.Bohling then told her about a dream he had.“I had a dream ...

Passing North Carolina budget before new year looks out of reach for GOP legislators

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:07 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican lawmakers are preparing for extra time again in order to pass a state government budget and to reach other substantial policy agreements before adjourning for the summer. While state law doesn’t mandate when the General Assembly adjourns, legislative leaders had hoped to get a new budget enacted before the next fiscal year begins on July 1 and to send the remaining legislation to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk before July 4. But top Republicans said this week that neither is likely to happen, citing protracted negotiations between the House and Senate over the two-year spending plan. “The budget’s not done and there’s several decision points left to be made,” Sen. Ralph Hise, a Mitchell County Republican and one of the chamber’s chief budget negotiators, said Thursday. “I think everyone here wishes it was moving faster and that we were voting that out.”The General Assembly convened in January, and in the spring the ...