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Judge declares mistrial in case of man accused in 1988 murder of girl in Lawrence

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:31 GMT

The trial for a man accused in connection with the 1988 death of an 11-year-old girl from New Hampshire ended Wednesday with a judge declaring a mistrial, a spokesperson for the Essex County District Attorney’s office confirmed. Marvin McClendon was arrested last year, decades after Melissa Ann Tremblay disappeared near the LaSalle Social Club in Lawrence while she was visiting family.Tremblay was a resident of Salem, New Hampshire and was found stabbed to death in a Lawrence railroad yard one day after her disappearance.McLendon, a former Massachusetts corrections officer, was arrested in Alabama after authorities said evidence from Tremblay’s body led police to him. McClendon was later indicted on charges including murder.Though the jury in his trial deadlocked, the Essex County DA spokesperson told 7NEWS the DA’s office will be seeking to retry McClendon. There was no new trial date as of Wednesday afternoon.

Potbelly pig ready for adoption after months of progress with Animal Rescue League of Boston

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:31 GMT

A potbelly pig is looking to kick off the new year on the right hoof by finding a new home. Originally rescued from a cruelty situation in Ohio, four-year-old Nala was brought to the Animal Rescue League of Boston earlier this year. After months spent making progress, officials this week said she is now ready for adoption.“When she did come to us, she was pretty overweight,” said ARL Media Relations Manager Mike DeFina, estimating Nala was between 30 and 35 pounds overweight. “She was very closed-off,” DeFina said.Officials said Nala was rescued from Ohio as a piglet. She then came into the care of the ARL in October after her latest owner could no longer care for her. At the time, officials said, she was suffering with mobility and emotional issues due to her weight. Having since slimmed down, the ARL officials said Nala is feeling much better.“Over the last couple of months, she’s made tremendous strides,” DeFina said. “So, she’s ...

Love the idea of a cozy winter vacation but hate the actual cold? These spots are perfection.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:31 GMT

Danielle Braff | Chicago TribunePerhaps you love the concept of a cozy winter wonderland — the snow, the hot chocolate, the fireplace, the fluffy blankets — but you’re not so wild about treading through the actual snow, and bracing the frigid temperatures to get to the good stuff. You’re more of an après-ski type of a person than a skier. There’s no shame in that.We’ve got a few suggestions for spots to try this winter if you want all that cozy goodness sans the chill.Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in ArizonaIce skating is always more fun when your toes don’t go numb from the cold. Experience this at Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, where 6 million sparkling lights pave the way to their own version of a winter wonderland: a 6,000-square-foot outdoor rink in Arizona with real ice (this is a true Christmas miracle), a Ferris wheel, fire pits, s’mores, igloos and even an ice lounge. Yes, the ice lounge is actually cold, but they provide you with faux fur parkas, hot craft cocktails and the ...

OpenAI, Microsoft sued by NYT over chatbot learning

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:31 GMT

NEW YORK — The New York Times is striking back against the threat that artificial intelligence poses to the news industry, filing a federal lawsuit Wednesday against OpenAI and Microsoft seeking to end the practice of using its stories to train chatbots.The Times says that the companies are threatening its livelihood by effectively stealing billions of dollars worth of work by its journalists, in some cases spitting out Times’ material verbatim to people who seek answers from generative artificial intelligence like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The newspaper’s lawsuit was filed in federal court in Manhattan.OpenAI and Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment.“These bots compete with the content they are trained on,” said Ian B. Crosby, partner and lead counsel at Susman Godfrey, which is representing The Times.Artificial intelligence companies scrape information available online, including articles published by news organizations, to train generative AI ch...

Apple Watch sales ban put on hold by court

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:31 GMT

Apple Inc. won a court ruling temporarily pausing a U.S. sales ban on its newest smartwatches, giving the company a reprieve in a patent fight that had forced the devices off the market and threatened an estimated $17 billion business.An appellate court in Washington issued the interim stay Wednesday a day after Apple sought a delay of the decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission, which had blocked the import and sale of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. The court gave the commission until Jan. 10 to respond to Apple’s request for a longer stay during the company’s appeal of the ITC’s order.Apple was forced to stop sales of one of its signature products after the ITC found the company infringed a pair of patents from medical device maker Masimo Corp. related to measuring blood-oxygen saturation. Apple pulled the watches from its website on Dec. 21 and in retail stores on Christmas Eve. The court’s ruling appears to allow the company to resume sales.The ITC announced t...

Ticker: Online retailer Zulily to go into liquidation; NBA OKs sale of Mavericks

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:31 GMT

The U.S. online retailer Zulily is closing down, surprising customers and laying off hundreds of workers after efforts to salvage the business failed.The Seattle-based company said in a notice on its website that it had tried to fill all pending orders and expected to manage that within the coming two weeks. Zulily said it was trying to ensure that orders that could not be filled were cancelled and refunded and offered a contact for customers who did not get their orders or refunds.“This decision was not easy nor was it entered into lightly. However, given the challenging business environment in which Zulily operated, and the corresponding financial instability, Zulily decided to take immediate and swift action,” said the notice, signed by Ryan C. Baker, vice president at management consultant Douglas Wilson Companies, which is handling the receivership for the company.NBA OKs sale of MavericksThe NBA on Wednesday approved the sale of controlling interest of the Dallas M...

Travel: Looking to go on a cruise in 2024? Here’s what you need to know

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:31 GMT

The BBC wasn’t being cheeky when the U.K. news bureau ran an online story with the headline, “Will we ever take cruise holidays again?” Back on April 9, 2020, the future of cruising truly was in doubt. Almost overnight, fears caused by a mysterious deadly virus brought a thriving industry worth $46 billion to its waterlogged knees, and with it a sinking feeling shared by millions of seabound vacationers whose plans were suddenly drydocked.As a weary world sanitized, masked up, distanced itself and prayed for a panacea, perhaps the last place people imagined themselves being, besides the emergency room, was on water with perhaps thousands of strangers of questionable hygiene and health.What a difference four years make. Not only have vaxxing requirements been jettisoned except for rare itineraries, but as the books close on 2023, an estimated 31.5 million passengers will have taken to the world’s oceans within the past 12 months. That’s a rebound beyond 2019 demand levels for the fir...

‘BlackBerry’ and ‘Past Lives’ make Barack Obama’s annual list of best films

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:31 GMT

First, it was Barack Obama’s favourite phone. Now, “BlackBerry” is one of the former U.S. president’s top films of the year. The Canadian satire from director Matt Johnson is one of 13 movies to make Obama’s list of the best films of 2023. Glenn Howerton and Jay Baruchel star as Research in Motion heads Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis in the fictionalized tale of the Canadian company’s rise and fall. Obama was famously a longtime lover of the BlackBerry, and only upgraded to an iPhone in 2016. “Past Lives,” the nostalgic romance from Korean-Canadian filmmaker Celine Song, also nabbed a spot on his annual list. His other favourites include “The Holdovers,” “Oppenheimer” and “Anatomy of a Fall.”This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 27, 2023.The Canadian Press

Amazon Prime ads on movies and TV shows will begin in late January

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:31 GMT

If you are an Amazon Prime Video user, get ready to see ads on movies and TV shows starting next month. Prime will include ads beginning on Jan. 29, the company said in an email to U.S. members this week, setting a date for an announcement it made back in September. Prime members who want to keep their movies and TV shows ad-free will have to pay an additional $2.99.Amazon is also planning to include advertisements in its Prime service in the United Kingdom and other European countries, as well as Canada, Mexico and Australia next year.The tech giant follows other major streamers –- such as Netflix and Disney –- who have embraced a dual model that allows them to earn revenue from ads and also offer subscribers the option to opt out with a higher fee. Amazon said in its email that it will “aim to have meaningfully fewer ads” than traditional TV and other streaming providers. The ads, the company said, “will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that...

Suspect wanted in connection with sex assault on board TTC train

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:31 GMT

Toronto police are searching for a suspect in connection with a sexual assault on board a TTC train.Police were called to Davisville Subway Station on August 17, 2023 at around 3:10 p.m. for reports of a sexual assault.It’s alleged the suspect and victim were onboard a northbound train heading to Davisville. The victim was standing and the suspect was sitting behind the victim, the suspect then allegedly sexually assaulted the victim. The suspect then got off the train at Finch and was last seen walking towards the bus bay. He’s described as a male, 25-35 years old, with dark brown hair and unshaven appearance. He was last seen wearing a green vest, grey shorts and brown slippers.A security camera photo has been released by police.