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JetBlue, Uber to offer free rides to passengers facing certain travel disruptions

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:21:49 GMT

Donald Wood | TravelPulse (TNS)Uber for Business and JetBlue announced a new partnership designed to benefit airline passengers impacted by qualifying travel disruptions.As part of the deal, JetBlue would offer complimentary Uber vouchers to its passengers who experience a qualified flight delay or cancellation, with the program currently available across the United States in every city where the carrier operates.Uber and JetBlue also revealed plans to expand the service internationally, beginning with major airports in Paris, London, and Amsterdam.“We always work to give our customers a great onboard experience and get them to their destination safely and on time,” JetBlue President and COO Joanna Geraghty said. “Sometimes travel doesn’t go as planned, and flights can get delayed or cancelled.”“In those cases, when the disruption is due to something in our control, our partnership with Uber for Business will make options for our customers more seamless,” Geraghty continued.For pass...

Shorthanded Patriots down eight starters at Tuesday’s practice

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:21:49 GMT

The New England Patriots have been crushed by injuries this season, and it doesn’t look like this week will bring much relief.Eight starters were missing from Tuesday’s practice, including four each from both the offense and defense.Left tackle Trent Brown, tight end Hunter Henry, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and running back Rhamondre Stevenson were missing from the offense, and cornerback Jonathan Jones, linebacker Josh Uche and defensive linemen Davon Godchaux and Keion White were absent from the defense.Brown (chest), Smith-Schuster (concussion), Godchaux (ankle) and Uche (ankle) were all on the injury report last week, while the other four were banged up on Sunday in Las Vegas, with White leaving during the first defensive series after suffering an apparent head injury.It wasn’t all bad news for the Patriots. Cornerback Jack Jones, who has been sidelined since Week 1 with a hamstring injury, was back on the field, starting his 21-day clock to return to th...

Will artificial intelligence find and cure breast cancer?

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:21:49 GMT

Can a machine catch a breast cancer tumor better than a human?Radiologists at Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute at Boca Regional Hospital have been working to find that answer. They began adding artificial intelligence technology to existing 3D mammography for breast cancer screening in 2020. With three years of results, they discovered AI can make a significant difference in finding cancer.Both the radiologists at the Institute (part of Baptist Health South Florida) and the machines read thousands of mammogram results each year. In some instances, AI helped catch cancers before they could be detected by the human eye. Since implementing AI, their detection rate has improved 23%.“In the past, if we found 100 cancers, today with AI we will find 123,” said Dr. Kathy Schilling medical director of Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute.“This is significant, because finding a cancer earlier could mean that a patient may not require chemotherapy or radiation therapy,” she...

Source: President Mahmoud Abbas cancels planned meeting with President Biden after hospital strike

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:21:49 GMT

By NAJIB JOBAIN, SAMYA KULLAB, RAVI NESSMAN and MATTHEW LEE (Associated Press)KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — A senior Palestinian official says President Mahmoud Abbas has canceled his participation in a meeting scheduled Wednesday with President Joe Biden and other Mideast leaders.Abbas was scheduled to join Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi at Wednesday’s summit in Amman, Jordan, where they are to discuss the latest Israel-Hamas war with Biden.But the senior official said Abbas was withdrawing to protest an alleged Israeli airstrike on a hospital in Gaza that Hamas health officials say has killed over 500 people.The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the cancelation has not been formally announced.The Health Ministry run by Hamas said an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday hit a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, killing hundreds. If confirmed, the attack would be by far the deadliest Israeli a...

WATCH LIVE: Jim Jordan loses first bid for Speaker on House floor — Live coverage

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:21:49 GMT

NEXSTAR (The Hill) — The House held its first vote Tuesday for a new Speaker, but GOP nominee Jim Jordan (Ohio) didn't have the votes — at least on this ballot.Today's session of the U.S. House of Representatives is being livestreamed above.Jordan gained some major momentum on Monday, picking up endorsements from four key players who had initially said they would not vote for him: House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (Ala.), along with Reps. Ann Wagner (Mo.), Ken Calvert (Calif.) and Vern Buchanan (Fla.). Holdouts could blunt Jordan’s momentum as House braces for Speaker floor vote However when the first vote was held, Jordan only garnered 200 of the needed 217 votes. While all 212 voting democrats voiced support for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), 20 Republicans split ranks and spread their votes over seven other names including majority leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and previous Speaker of the House Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Cali.).Following the first ballot ...

3.0-magnitude earthquake reported off San Diego coast

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:21:49 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.0 struck off the coast of San Diego early Tuesday.The quake happened around 1:30 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake was recorded 28 miles northeast of San Clemente Island at a depth of about half a mile.Check back for updates on this developing story.

IRS plans limited rollout of free e-file tax return system with invitations to select taxpayers

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:21:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS plans to invite select taxpayers across 13 states to try out the agency’s pilot electronic free file tax return system beginning in January. The agency estimates that hundreds of thousands of taxpayers will participate in the limited rollout of the program for the 2024 filing season. The IRS faces intense blowback from private tax preparation companies that have made billions from charging people to use their software. The introduction of a government-run option could upend the industry and fundamentally change the way taxpayers interact with IRS. All eyes are on the agency to get it right — and avoid a roll-out reminiscent of the disastrous healthcare.gov website rollout a decade ago, when many users encountered challenges accessing and using the website. “The plan is to roll it out in increments that get larger and larger, consistent with how products like this are rolled out in the private sector,” IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel said on a call with...

Ukraine claims a major strike on Russian airfields and thanks US for providing long-range missiles

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:21:49 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine on Tuesday claimed to have carried out one of the most destructive attacks on Russian air assets since the beginning of the war, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying the assault used longer-range ballistic missiles donated by the United States.Zelenskyy’s announcement came hours after a U.S. official revealed that the longer-range ballistic missiles sought for months by Kyiv and promised by President Joe Biden had been delivered quietly and are in battlefield use.Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces claimed it destroyed nine Russian helicopters at two airfields in Russia-occupied regions in a nighttime attack on targets in eastern and southern Ukraine.It also hit military equipment, an air-defense system, ammunition warehouses and runways, a statement said. Dozens of Russian military personnel were injured in the attack codenamed Operation Dragonfly, it said.Several U.S. officials said that Washington provided Ukraine with a small num...

Parks Canada signs agreement with First Nations, opens door to harvesting in Jasper

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:21:49 GMT

Parks Canada and two First Nations have signed an agreement that points to a stronger Indigenous voice in parks management and opens the door to harvesting in Jasper National Park in western Alberta.The agreement, which renews an age-old treaty between the Stoney Nation in Alberta and Simpcw First Nation in British Columbia, is to be marked later this month in a ceremony, which will involve the hunting of a small number of elk, deer and mountain sheep. Parks Canada spokesman Mark Young says the agreement is part of a larger move within the agency to reopen lands to First Nations from which they were removed when the parks were created.He says it will help recreate the kind of ecology that existed for thousands of years.Chief George Lampreau of the Simpcw says his people were stewards of that land for centuries and are deeply committed to keeping it healthy.The ceremony will also renew an ancient treaty between the Simpcw and the Stoneys under which the two First Nations agreed to sh...

Live updates | Jordan loses 20 Republicans in speaker’s vote, creating uphill climb to win gavel

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:21:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Jim Jordan lost 20 Republican votes Tuesday in his first round of balloting for House speaker, creating an uphill climb to win the gavel.Another vote is expected, although the timing of that is unclear.What to knowJim Jordan’s rapid rise has been cheered by Trump and the far rightHow the vote for a new speaker worksScalise ends bid to become speaker as holdouts refuse to back himMcCarthy was an early architect of the GOP majority that became his downfallSpeaker McCarthy ousted in historic House voteJordan holdouts face ‘meat grinder’ of pressureRep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican and Jordan ally who has resisted party leadership in the past, said the holdouts on the House speaker vote would now be put through a “meat grinder” of pressure.He predicted they would cave and support Jordan by the end of the week after pressure from conservative voters who are being told to call member offices and close friends.“I don’t think any of these 20 have the stomach f...