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Skelton: California is building the bullet train, so let’s make it work

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:12 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom got the Christmas present he desperately wanted from President Joe Biden: the crucial piece of a train set.It’s a relatively small piece that’s vital to eventually making this fancy electric train work.I’m referring to the much-maligned bullet train that three California governors have been trying to build.When complete, it will carry passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than three hours at speeds of up to 220 mph. That’s the sales pitch, anyway.Biden’s gift is a $3.1 billion grant that’s badly needed to continue work on the high-speed rail line’s initial segment in the San Joaquin Valley.The ambitious project has been widely lampooned over the years by many, including me, as a too-costly boondoggle and off track from the start.Time to focusBut let’s get real: This giant adult toy is going to be constructed one way or another, whether at reasonable speed or in pokey chug-chug fashion. It’s time w...

49ers at Commanders: 5 keys to bounce-back win over Washington

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:12 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 49ers opened their season with five straight wins, then lost three in a row, won six straight and, most recently, ruined Christmas dinner by losing big on Monday night.A streaky team? They need that trend to stop Sunday, when they take an NFC-leading record (11-4) into FedEx Field to face the last-place Washington Commanders (4-11).Focusing on that game, rather than last game’s debacle or their playoff fate, is a theme that echoed through the 49ers’ locker room this past week.“It just emphasizes the fact that we need to stay in the moment and not look at the No. 1 seed, or we have to win this many games to get this and that,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “Things can go south really fast in the NFL.”That’s why Chase Young, traded two months ago from Washington, said he and the 49ers must arrive with “tunnel vision.”Brock Purdy agreed, after the unsightly scene of last game’s career-high four interceptions. “We’re trying to win this week, take...

Inside the culture clash dominating the AI debate in the US

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:12 GMT

In a city notorious for its cynicism, few things are quite as unsettling as an interest group that truly believes they’re the good guys.As Washington grapples with the rise of artificial intelligence, a small army of adherents to “effective altruism” has descended on the nation’s capital and is dominating how the White House, Congress and think tanks approach the technology.The Silicon Valley-based movement is backed by tech billionaires and began as a rationalist approach to solving human suffering. But some observers say it has morphed into a cult obsessed with the coming AI doomsday.The most ardent advocates of effective altruism, or EA, believe researchers are only months or years away from building an AI superintelligence able to outsmart the world’s collective efforts to control it. Through either its own volition or via terrorists seeking to develop deadly bioweapons, such an AI could wipe out humanity, they say. And some, including noted EA thinker Eliezer Yudkowsky, believe...

Fire crews battle house fire in Braintree

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:12 GMT

Fire crews battled a house fire in Braintree late Friday night that left a home severely damaged.Firefighters could be seen using a ladder truck to douse flames shooting out of the roof of the home on Hobart Avenue.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Damp to Drying

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:12 GMT

While we track some damp weather on this Saturday morning, through midday, drier weather is ahead. Spotty drizzle and spotty showers, that grace us this morning, will dry out mid to late afternoon, setting the stage for a pattern change. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day will be near seasonable levels with dry air and some sun back into the mix. New Year’s Eve temps run in the mid to upper 30s just after sunset to the lower 30s around the time the ball drops and fireworks light up the sky. Enjoy the night as light winds will allow the chill to be a manageable one.

Four Patriots players who can build off momentum Week 17 vs. Bills

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:12 GMT

The Patriots are looking to play spoiler once again this weekend against the Bills.At 9-6, the Bills are currently the No. 6 seed in the AFC. They currently have a 90% chance of making the playoffs, per The New York Times’ simulator. If the Patriots win Sunday, the Bills’ chances drop to 47%. If the Bills win, they rise to 98%.After the Broncos’ Week 16 loss to the Patriots, their playoff chances fell to just 4%.Here are four Patriots players hoping to build off their momentum from that game.QB Bailey ZappeStarting his fourth game of the season, Zappe had one of the best performances from a Patriots quarterback in two seasons Sunday in the 26-23 win over the Broncos. Zappe had previously put together two solid first halves against the Steelers in Week 14 and the Chiefs in Week 15 but couldn’t finish either game strong.That was not an issue in Week 16, when he put together the first game-winning drive of his career.Now, Zappe will look to build on that perform...

What does Watch Night mean for Black Americans today? It dates back to the Emancipation Proclamation

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:12 GMT

The tradition of Watch Night services in the United States dates back to Dec. 31, 1862, when many Black Americans gathered in churches and other venues, waiting for President Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation into law, and thus free those still enslaved in the Confederacy.It’s still being observed each New Year’s Eve, at many multiracial and predominantly Black churches across the country.What is the historical background of Watch Night services?As the Civil War raged on, Lincoln issued an executive order on Sept. 22, 1862, declaring that enslaved people in the rebellious Confederate states were legally free. However, this decree — the Emancipation Proclamation — would not take effect until the stroke of midnight heralding the new year.Those gathering on the first Watch Night included many African Americans who were still legally enslaved as they assembled, sometimes in secrecy.“At the time, enslaved Black people could find little respite from ever-pr...

Activists who engage with voters of color are looking for messages that will resonate in 2024

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — This year’s elections in Louisiana didn’t go the way that voting rights advocate Ashley Shelton had hoped, with the far-right conservative attorney general replacing a term-limited Democratic governor and consolidating Republican control in the state.Turnout was just 37%, despite the efforts of activists like her.“Even when you work hard and you do all the things you’re supposed to, you get an unfortunate outcome, which was these statewide elections,” said Shelton, the executive director of Power Coalition for Equity & Justice in Louisiana.She said it will be a challenge to regain trust from the communities of color she typically focuses on, mostly because of a constant drumbeat of disappointments in recent years, from attacks on voting rights to the failure of a sweeping student loan forgiveness plan. While Louisiana is not a battleground for national races, Shelton’s experience in the state serves as a window into some of the challenges President Joe Biden fa...

Pakistan election officials reject former prime minister Khan’s candidacy in parliamentary election

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:12 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Election officials in Pakistan rejected former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday as a candidate in the country’s February parliamentary election. His lawyers have said they will appeal.Khan is in prison serving a three-year sentence for corruption and also faces a stack of other charges, making it difficult for him to run for office. But he still filed nomination papers, buoyed by an appeals court’s August decision to suspend his criminal conviction.Election officials disallowed Khan’s candidacy because of his conviction and what they said was his disqualification under the constitution, according to documents. They also rejected the candidacies of former members of his Cabinet. The decisions were a fresh blow for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which authorities have targeted during a monthslong crackdown.The 71-year-old former cricketer is the country’s most popular opposition figure.He was kicked out of office in April 20...

Albania’s ex-Prime Minister Berisha put under house arrest while investigated for corruption

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:51:12 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — An Albanian court on Saturday ordered house arrest for former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, who leads the opposition Democratic Party and is being investigated for possible corruption.Judge Irena Gjoka of the First Instance Special Court on Corruption and Organized Crime, which covers cases involving senior officials and politicians, accepted prosecutors’ request to put Berisha, 79, under house arrest after he violated the previous restrictive measures of reporting every two weeks. He was also barred from traveling abroad.His lawyer, Genc Gjokutaj, said the court also barred Berisha from communicating with people other than his family who lives with him, and considered the order a violation of law. Depriving Berisha of communication may become a wider political issue because he’s the leader of the main opposition party.Gjokutaj said he would appeal the court order. It is not clear how police officers would monitor Berisha at his apartment in downtown Tira...