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Niles: Why Disney’s Star Wars hotel was too much, for too few

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:39:17 GMT

Disney rarely suffers major, expensive flops in its theme parks segment. But the company just took a big loss with its announced closure of the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser at the Walt Disney World Resort.The company said last month that it will close its award-winning “Star Wars hotel” this fall, just a year and a half after the property opened in early 2022. Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser is a two-night interactive experience that is meant to simulate a cruise in space, with character encounters and a “port call” to the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land in the Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park. It’s pricey — costing up to $6,000 for a family of four.That cost limited the potential audience for Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser, which already was limited by Disney’s choice to design the Starcruiser as an extended, immersive experience aimed at Star Wars’ most dedicated fans. As such, Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser’s commercial failure should endure in the memories of industry inside...

Affordable homes project in San Jose lands key construction financing

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:39:17 GMT

SAN JOSE — A housing development in San Jose consisting of about 100 apartments has landed key chunks of the construction financing needed to build the project, Santa Clara County real estate records show.The project, known as The Charles, is slated to be built at 551 Keyes Street next to South 12th Street near Happy Hollow Park & Zoo.The six-story development would consist of 99 residential units and be a 100% affordable project, San Jose city planning documents show.Street-level view of a 100% affordable housing development consisting of 99 apartments at 551 Keyes Street in San Jose, concept. (David Baker Architects)San Jose and Santa Clara County were among the key providers of the construction financing for the housing development, documents filed on June 12 with the county Recorder’s Office show.The overall construction cost for the project is slightly under $87 million, according to information that a state Treasurer’s Office committee posted.The dev...

Former Mitty star Aaron Gordon wins NBA title with HS coach Kennedy by his side

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:39:17 GMT

Archbishop Mitty boys basketball coach Tim Kennedy was inside Ball Arena in Denver and got to watch as his program’s greatest player, Aaron Gordon, won his first NBA championship on Monday night.When the final buzzer sounded on the Nuggets’ 94-89 victory over the Miami Heat, confetti rained down and the longtime San Jose coach beamed with pride while cheering and celebrating in the Denver stands. “I’m exhausted, but seeing Aaron win it was a dream come true,” Kennedy told the Bay Area News Group on Tuesday morning. “When your players go to college, that’s special. When they get drafted, you think you’ve hit the top. But to win and be a world champion on the highest stage, it doesn’t get any better.”Unbelievable night for Monarch legend Aaron Gordon as he helps the @nuggets win an NBA championship. Proud of everything this great competitor and teammate has accomplished. Represents himself and everything Monarch basketball stands for so well. #AlwaysAMonarch pic.twitter.com/n3sLdJvKSA...

Dangerous Pathogens and Cruelty Law Violations at Perdue Subsidiary, Animal Rights Report Alleges

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:39:17 GMT

Photo: Courtesy of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE)Hours before dawn on Tuesday, eight animal liberation activists entered the Petaluma Poultry slaughterhouse facility in Sonoma County, California, disguised as workers, with the aim of rescuing as many chickens as possible.Meanwhile, approximately 175 protesters gathered outside the property, where up to 49,000 chickens are killed every day, and where animal rights activists allege animal abuses and risks to public health are rampant. Some of the demonstrators joined those who had entered the property to assist in the planned “open rescue” action: a tactic by which activists publicly remove ailing animals from factory farms and bring them to animal sanctuaries, while highlighting the harms of the meat and animal products industry.By 3 a.m. PT, as partly captured in a video shared exclusively with The Intercept, activists had removed around 10 chickens from trucks that had transported thousands of chickens onto the slaughterhouse pro...

Algorithm Used in Jordanian World Bank Aid Program Stiffs the Poorest

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:39:17 GMT

A program spearheaded by the World Bank that uses algorithmic decision-making to means-test poverty relief money is failing the very people it’s intended to protect, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch. The anti-poverty program in question, known as the Unified Cash Transfer Program, was put in place by the Jordanian government.Having software systems make important choices is often billed as a means of making those choices more rational, fair, and effective. In the case of the poverty relief program, however, the Human Rights Watch investigation found the algorithm relies on stereotypes and faulty assumptions about poverty.“Its formula also flattens the economic complexity of people’s lives into a crude ranking.”“The problem is not merely that the algorithm relies on inaccurate and unreliable data about people’s finances,” the report found. “Its formula also flattens the economic complexity of people’s lives into a crude ranking that pits one household against another, ...

Mayor of Mexican border city of Tijuana to live at army base after receiving threats

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:39:17 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The mayor of the Mexican border city of Tijuana said she has decided to go live at an army base for her own safety, after she received threats.Mayor Montserrat Caballero announced the decision after confirming that police had found seven dead bodies stuffed in a pickup truck on Monday. “I have received threats, so I am going to live at the base,” Caballero said. Local media reported the army base is on the southern edge of Tijuana, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the city hall.Caballero did not say who the threats had come from. But it is well known that several drug cartels are waging turf battles in Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, California.Killings in Tijuana have risen by about 9% in the last 12 months, according to the federal public safety department. Tijuana has more homicides that any other city in Mexico, with 1,818 killings in the 12-month period ending in May.Caballero has acknowledged the cartels’ strong presence in the past. In 2022, aft...

FIFA makes 1st payment from finance house aiming to help small clubs, clean up transfer market

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:39:17 GMT

ZURICH (AP) — The first money processed by a new FIFA finance department was the 159,900 euros ($172,400) paid to a French amateur club on Monday from the transfer of former youth player Benoît Badiashile to Chelsea.The Paris-based FIFA Clearing House was created by soccer’s governing body to bring more transparency to deals and ensure about $300 million extra each year is paid to lower-ranked clubs.Clubs worldwide have been missing out on their cut from sales of players they once trained who move in the often-murky multi-billion dollar transfer market.Badiashile played for eight years at SC Malesherbois before signing for Monaco at the age of 15, according to his profile on the national team website. Monaco sold Badiashile, now 22, to Chelsea in January for a reported fee of about $40 million.FIFA transfer rules entitle clubs which train players to get a share of future transfer fees. However, the process has been complex and many clubs were unaware of their entitlement.On Monday, ...

Fox News sends Tucker Carlson ‘cease-and-desist’ letter over Twitter series: Reports

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:39:17 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fox News sent Tucker Carlson a “cease-and-desist” letter over his new Twitter series, Axios reported Monday, amid reports of a contract battle between the conservative network and its former prime-time host.Carlson was ousted from Fox in late April, less than a week after Fox agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems nearly $800 million to settle an explosive defamation case. The network provided no explanation for the firing, but a wave of reports on damming text messages and other statements Carlson made during his time at Fox have since piled up.Since leaving Fox, Carlson kicked off a “Tucker on Twitter” series — arguing that Twitter was “the only” major remaining platform that allows free speech as he denounced news media. The series, which has published two episodes so far, has appeared to escalate contract tensions between Carlson and Fox.Fox has demanded Carlson to stop posting videos to Twitter, The New York Times also reported Monday — as the network’s l...

Police say at least 100 killed when boat capsizes in northern Nigeria

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:39:17 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A boat capsized in northern Nigeria killing at least 100 people, police said Tuesday, as a search for survivors intensified.The boat capsized early Monday morning on the River Niger close to neighboring Niger state, Kwara state police spokesman Okasanmi Ajayi said. oSource

Surveillance has caught hackers and fentanyl smugglers, White House says in promoting spying law

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:39:17 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has used electronic surveillance programs to catch fentanyl smugglers and the hackers who temporarily shut down a major U.S. fuel pipeline, the White House said Tuesday as part of its push to have those programs renewed by Congress.Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expires at the end of this year. President Joe Biden’s administration is trying to convince Congress to renew the law, which authorizes spy agencies to capture huge swaths of foreign emails and phone calls. But lawmakers in both parties have concerns about protecting Americans’ privacy from warrantless searches after a series of FBI errors and misuses of intelligence data.As part of its public campaign, the Biden administration released what it said were newly declassified examples of how U.S. intelligence uses Section 702. And the FBI announced new penalties for employees who misuse intelligence data in advance of a closely watched Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on th...