1,000-pound, 11-foot great white shark ‘Maple’ pings off Florida coast

Published Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:56:34 GMT

1,000-pound, 11-foot great white shark ‘Maple’ pings off Florida coast SAINT GEORGE ISLAND, Florida (WESH) — Great white shark Maple was pinged Monday morning about 43 miles southeast of St. George Island, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico, according to tracking data from OCEARCH, a nonprofit organization that tracks marine life.Maple, who is named after Canada’s national symbol, has spent much of her winter in the Gulf of Mexico over the past two seasons, according to OCEARCH.The organization’s research vessel, MV OCEARCH, has been tracking the 11-foot-7-inch-long female shark since she was tagged off the coast of Nova Scotia in 2021. Maple is one of the many white sharks being tracked by the organization to better understand their behavior and movement patterns.The 1,264-pound shark was also noted for a distinctive wound on the left side of her body, likely caused by an encounter with a larger white shark. According to the research team’s initial assessment, Maple’s wound was likely the result of dominance behavior, a commo...

Nice Friday, then watching two storms

Published Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:56:34 GMT

Nice Friday, then watching two storms 7Weather – Not too bad out there today! We saw a lot of blue sky for a good chunk of the day. With the help of the March sun angle, temperatures rebounded to the upper 40s and some spots hit 50°.It’s been a windy week! Luckily, the wind will continue to diminish tonight. Light wind along with a few clouds overnight should allow temperatures to drop into the upper 20s and near 30° along the coast. Tomorrow morning we should get a few hours of bright sunshine, before mid and high level clouds take over. Highs rebound to the upper 40s/near 50° for a lot of us. There will be a light, onshore breeze keeping it cooler on the coast.We’ve been looking to our east for incoming cloud cover and any spot showers this week. Late tomorrow night, we turn to our west. An area of low pressure will form through the Ohio Valley and the center of it will track south of us. With this track, impacts will be minimal for us. Snow showers move in late Friday/early Saturday morning. Accumul...

French bulldog has eyes for actor Henry Cavill 

Published Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:56:34 GMT

French bulldog has eyes for actor Henry Cavill  A French bulldog named Rory apparently has eyes for a famous British actor. Rory’s owner has shared the love affair on social media, explaining her dog started staring at the TV while the Netflix series “The Witcher” was playing. Rory could not look away from one of the show’s actors — Henry Cavill. Rory was again smitten when Cavill appeared on screen as Superman. “If he comes on the screen and she hears his voice, she will wake up out of a deep sleep and pop up and look for him,” owner Heather Land said in a recent interview. Land dressed Rory up as Geralt from “The Witcher” for Halloween. Soon, TikTok fans were sending Cavill merchandise, and a shrine was born. That shrine now contains everything from pillows to figurines and candles. See updates on Rory here.

Struggling T May Be Stuck With Reduced Ridership

Published Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:56:34 GMT

Struggling T May Be Stuck With Reduced Ridership MBTA officials are weighing whether persistent reduced ridership warrants a more pessimistic fare revenue projection in the upcoming budget, and one overseer thinks the sluggish outlook might just be “the new normal.”Almost exactly three years after the COVID-19 crisis pushed public transit ridership numbers off a cliff, average systemwide use of the T remains only a bit more than half of pre-pandemic levels. The rate of recovery has slowed in the past year, driven in part by widespread service disruptions and a month-long shutdown of the Orange Line.That trend creates major financial pressure for the MBTA, and chief financial officer Mary Ann O’Hara on Thursday floated the idea of expecting even less income from paying commuters in fiscal 2024.Budget-writers at the MBTA in recent years have used a trio of ridership models or “scenarios.” The most optimistic of those would project about $596 million in fare revenue in fiscal 2024, the moderate option wo...

Bova’s Bakery to temporarily close for Matt Damon, Casey Affleck movie filming

Published Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:56:34 GMT

Bova’s Bakery to temporarily close for Matt Damon, Casey Affleck movie filming Hollywood will be back in Boston later this month as a film starring a pair of local A-list actors brings cameras to the North End.The filming will prompt a temporary closure for the famous Bova’s Bakery, whose owner recently said he is “nervous but excited,” for a moment in the spotlight. Bova’s hasn’t closed its doors for nearly a hundred years. That streak is about to come to an end though as owner Ralph Bova has agreed to close his around-the-clock bakery for five days from March 20 to March 25 to make way for stars Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. A new production company created by Damon and Affleck’s brother, Ben, is producing the movie, which is called “The Instigators.” The movie follows two crooks who go on the run with their therapist when a robbery goes wrong. Bova said a police officer will come in for the scene at Bova’s Bakery and smash glass cases with a nightstick following the botched heist. The glass, Bova said, is movie glass. “Not mine...

Shooting at Jehovah’s Witness hall in Germany causes deaths

Published Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:56:34 GMT

Shooting at Jehovah’s Witness hall in Germany causes deaths BERLIN (AP) — Shots were fired inside a building used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the northern German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, and an unspecified number of people were killed or wounded, police said.The shooting took place in the Gross Borstel district, a few kilometers (miles) north of the downtown area of Germany’s second-biggest city.Police said on Twitter that “several people were seriously wounded, some of them fatally,” but didn’t give a precise figure.German news agency dpa reported seeing rescue services taking people out of a building used by Jehovah’s Witnesses.Police said they were alerted to the shooting about 9:15 p.m. and were on the scene quickly. They said that after officers arrived, they heard a shot from an upper floor.The police statement said there was no immediate indication that a shooter was on the run and tehat it appeared likely that the perpetrator or perpetrators were either in the building or among the dead.Police had no information on the even...

Boston will stop giving residents $75 for COVID vaccines and boosters, virus wastewater data plunges

Published Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:56:34 GMT

Boston will stop giving residents $75 for COVID vaccines and boosters, virus wastewater data plunges If you’re looking to get a COVID vaccine or booster in the city, you only have a few more weeks to also take home $75 while getting the jab.The Boston Public Health Commission’s $75 COVID shot incentive expires at the end of March.“Attention residents! The $75 gift card incentive for COVID-19 vaccination/boosters at our standing sites is ending,” the Boston Public Health Commission tweeted on Thursday. “The last day you can get a $75 gift card is March 31. To find a standing site near you, visit boston.gov/covid19-vaccine.”People who have not received a COVID booster since August 2022 are due to get the updated bivalent booster.Meanwhile, the city’s virus wastewater data is continuing to take a plunge. Data from the city’s wastewater surveillance program shows that the number of COVID particles in the wastewater dropped 64% over the past two weeks.The citywide average is now 496 viral RNA copies per milliliter, down from 897 viral RNA ...

Biden’s budget would transfer ownership of Cape Cod bridges to Massachusetts

Published Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:56:34 GMT

Biden’s budget would transfer ownership of Cape Cod bridges to Massachusetts The president’s 2024 budget, as written, would partially fund the replacement of the Cape Cod bridges and proposes eventually transferring ownership of the busy spans from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the state.“The Budget includes an initial $350 million for replacement of the Cape Cod Canal bridges, toward a commitment of $600 million, and a legislative proposal that would allow the Corps to transfer those funds to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which is better suited to design and construct the replacement bridges,” President Biden’s budget reads, in part.“The Budget proposes authorizing the Corps to transfer ownership of these bridges to the Commonwealth, which would be responsible for their future operation and maintenance,” the proposal reads.MassDOT and the USACE have been working together on plans to replace the federally-owned Bourne and Sagamore bridges since 2020, when the Army Corps determined both structures would require replacement. The two bridges pr...

Former NBA star Shawn Kemp released from jail after shooting

Published Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:56:34 GMT

Former NBA star Shawn Kemp released from jail after shooting TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — No charges are immediately being filed against former NBA star Shawn Kemp following his arrest in connection with a drive-by shooting in Washington, prosecutors said Thursday.Kemp, 53, was booked shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday for investigation of felony drive-by shooting in Tacoma. He was released by mid-afternoon Thursday, online jail records show. No one was injured in the shooting Wednesday afternoon.Adam Faber, a spokesman for the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office, said in an emailed statement Thursday that no charges were immediately being filed against Kemp and that he was being released from jail pending further investigation.Tacoma police said they arrested a 53-year-old man after a shooting in a parking lot near the Tacoma Mall on Wednesday, but a spokeswoman on Thursday did not confirm whether that was Kemp. The shooting followed an altercation between people in two vehicles; one car fled and a gun was recovered, police said.Kemp, who has...

Former NBA star Shawn Kemp to be released after drive-by shooting arrest

Published Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:56:34 GMT

Former NBA star Shawn Kemp to be released after drive-by shooting arrest Retired NBA All-Star Shawn Kemp won’t be charged, pending a further police investigation, following his arrest on suspicion of a drive-by shooting felony, officials said Thursday.Kemp is expected to be released from jail Thursday, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Seattle news station KIRO. The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a Daily News request for comment.Kemp, who played eight of his 14 seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics, was booked at a Pierce County jail just before 6 p.m. local time Wednesday, hours after police say they responded to a report of shots fired at the Tacoma Mall in Tacoma, Wash.“Responding officers determined an altercation had occurred between two parties in vehicles,” the Tacoma Police Department said. “One of the drivers fired off several rounds at the occupants of the other vehicle. The victim vehicle fled the area.”No injuries were reported.“Officers located the suspect who had ...